- Residents in Aba Ringfence face power outage due to attack on Aba Power Plant's gas pipelines by vandals
- The power disruption comes after 31 days of continuous electricity supply in the region
- Aba Power MD assures residents efforts are underway to restore full service across the nine local government areas
Residents in the Aba Ringfence, covering nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State, are experiencing their first power outage in over a month following an attack on the Aba Power Plant’s gas pipelines by vandals.
The incident occurred over the weekend when the vandals, believed to have been searching for crude oil and petroleum products to steal, targeted the Eastern Gas Network, which supplies gas to the Aba Power Station.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday, January 20, by Ugo Opiegbe, the Managing Director of Aba Power.
Opiegbe explained that the power outage comes after 31 days of uninterrupted electricity supply to the affected communities. He expressed regret over the disruption, saying, "After 31 days of constant power supply, residents in the Aba Ringfence experienced their first power outage this weekend."
He went on to apologise to the residents who had enjoyed continuous electricity since December 17, making them the first set of electricity consumers in Nigeria to experience such service in several years.
"We deeply apologise to our numerous customers who have enjoyed continuous supply since December 17," Opiegbe said.
While the cause of the gas supply disruption from Heirs Energies, which operates Oil Mining Licence (OLM) 17 at Owaza in Ukwa West LGA, Abia State, was not officially disclosed, reliable sources informed journalists that vandals had attacked the Eastern Gas Network while attempting to steal crude oil and petroleum products.
The attack highlights the difficulty of distinguishing between gas and oil pipelines, which are often laid together, making them vulnerable to theft.
Despite the loss of the gas supply, Opiegbe noted that some parts of the Aba Ringfence were still receiving electricity.
"We quickly switched to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company for a quick fix because we don’t want our cherished customers, who have been expressing satisfaction with our service since December, to be without power,” he explained.
However, he added that not all areas in the Aba Ringfence were benefiting from the NDPHC supplies due to the limited nature of the supply.
“We will not rest until consumers in all nine LGAs in our coverage area begin to enjoy uninterrupted electricity once again,” Opiegbe assured.
IBEDC, Bresson sign N180bn Magboro power plant purchase agreement
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and Bresson A S signed the Magboro power plant purchase agreement of N180 billion.
The first phase of the purchase kicked off on Monday, October 28, with the official signing and unveiling of the 30 Megawatts (MW) power purchase agreement between Bresson A S, Magboro Power Company and IBEDC.