AEDC plans to inject 350MW to boost electricity supply

The acting Managing Director/CEO of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Chijioke Okwuokenye, has disclosed the Company’s efforts to boost electricity supply as it plans to infuse additional 350 megawatts (350MW) from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s power plant into its network.

Okwuokenye, who stated this while briefing the media in Abuja, said AEDC is working with the NNPC to improve on its service delivery to Abuja. He added that the NNPC’s plant, expected to be operational by the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year, 2027, will bring relief to Abuja and environs when it gets underway.

However, he stated that AEDC has improved on its energy intake by 15 percent when compared to the year under review as he also revealed that the company has achieved a 10 basis point reduction in losses about 42 percent to 32 percent in terms of loss reduction.

The AEDC boss spoke on the Company’s collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under what he referred to as embedded generation scheme which will see AEDC add 10 megawatts (MW) to the total electricity supplied to customers.

Okwuokenye said, “The future looks very bright, there is a 350 MW generation plant being built by the NNPC around Gwagwalada that is meant to come off either the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year. That alone is going to massively relieve Abuja’s environs of energy costs. We are working closely with the NNPC to see how we uptake that power and improve service delivery to Abuja. So I’m very sure that by this time next year, all these issues will be resolved.

“We have the ones we are doing with the REA and we have the ones that we are doing on our own. We also have the embedded generation that we are working on. With the embedded generation, we have a plan to build about three number 10 megawatt solar plants, expanded to 20, depending on how the demand grows.

“You would see these are the three external clusters that surround Abuja. So while we are concentrating on the center, we are also looking at the outskirts, the clusters, so that before you know it, we are attacking this problem from all angles and we can immediately light up the entire Abuja.

READ ALSO: The dangers of legalising civilian dictatorship

“We are doing the embedded generation plan and that’s why I’m confident to say that by this time next year, Abuja citizens will not feel the impact of reduced electrons on the grid because we will have enough energy within our franchise area to meet a substantial amount of our demand.

“So we are actually asking our customers to bear with us. We know that it is tough now but the vision is very clear and we are sure that with all we have put in place, we are going to be able to deliver on this promise.”

The acting MD said the Company had assigned about 70,000 meters within the last 14 months under various initiative such as the Meter Asset Fund and the Distribution Sector Recovery Program with the objective to put a permanent end to estimated billing, improve transparency and as well boosting the sector liquidity.

“Between last year and the first two months of this year, we have deployed about 70,000 meters. These are real customers moved from estimated billing to credible billing. This improves customer confidence and ensures that the market becomes more liquid.

“We have also done a lot in terms of meeting our market obligation. I can tell you that before now, AEDC was one company that was known to have amounted debts to the market because in the past we weren’t able to meet our payment obligation to the market. But that’s now in the past.

“We are meeting 100 percent our obligations to the market and even paying down previous debts. I will tell you how this impacts the market and how it ensures that going forward there’s available electrons for Nigerians to industrialise and to be productive,” he added.