The Chairman of the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Agency (ASERA), Emeka Onyegbule, has described Aba Power as the benchmark for electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, citing its service reliability and infrastructure quality.

Onyegbule made the remark after leading a delegation of the agency on an inspection tour of facilities belonging to the Geometric Power Group, the parent company of Aba Power.

Speaking after the visit, Onyegbule said the team came to verify reports about the company’s integrated power operations and left impressed by what they observed.

“I came here with my team to see if the reality matched the reports we have been getting about this integrated power group, and I must say I am profoundly impressed,” he said. He commended the company’s engineering arm for delivering what he described as state-of-the-art network infrastructure.

A former senior manager of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), Cliff Eneh, also praised the utility’s performance. Eneh, who once worked with Texas Power and Light in the United States, said Aba Power has emerged as Nigeria’s most reliable utility in terms of supply consistency.

According to him, Aba residents enjoyed uninterrupted electricity for over two months late last year, adding that gas supply constraints from a partner company later affected continuity.

Onyegbule said ASERA would strengthen collaboration with Geometric Power to ensure improved gas supply and increased generation capacity. He noted that the company has demonstrated a clear understanding of its mandate within the state’s evolving electricity market.

Managing Director of the Geometric Power Plant, Ben Caven, said the company is considering expanding generation capacity from 188 megawatts to 500 megawatts to meet rising electricity demand in Abia State. Caven is noted for previously holding top engineering, generation and transmission roles in NEPA.

Sources close to the firm indicated that discussions are ongoing with some state governments outside Abia to secure electricity supply from Aba Power’s embedded generation facility, citing its reliability and cost efficiency.

Earlier, Aba Power Managing Director, Ugo Opiegbe, told the visiting regulators that the company represents the fulfilment of a long-term vision to build a fully integrated electricity system.

He said major investments were made ahead of the company’s takeover of the Aba Ring-Fenced Area in 2022, targeting a reduction in Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses — a key objective of the Federal Government’s power sector privatisation programme.

The firm’s head of engineering, Engr. Akpata, disclosed that the company exceeded its smart meter rollout target. He said while the initial plan was to install 100,000 smart meters through vendor financing in 2025, more than 122,000 meters were installed by December last year, effectively replacing estimated billing across the ring-fenced area.

Industry stakeholders have welcomed ASERA’s pledge to deepen cooperation with Geometric Power. The President-General of the Abia Amalgamated Traders Association, Chief Alphonsus Udeigbo, said the move aligns with the economic development vision of the administration of Alex Otti.

He said the partnership would support efforts to position Abia among Nigeria’s most competitive state economies.

Also reacting, former general manager at the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Handley Blu-Jack, said closer regulatory cooperation with operators would help protect both consumers and industry players, while encouraging sector-wide growth.

During the visit to the company’s headquarters in Osisioma Industrial Layout, Onyegbule was accompanied by ASERA’s Executive Director for Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Iguwo Ukwu, and Executive Director for Technical Affairs, Iheanyi Weze.

Aba Power currently supplies electricity to nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State. Within three years of operations, the company has built four new substations, refurbished three inherited from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, constructed more than 150 kilometres of overhead lines, and provided free smart meters to over 90 per cent of its customers.