1 week Ago
Something is happening in the power sector in Imo State, how did Imo get here? Recall that last year, there was a constitution amendment in respect of the Electricity Act. That amendment led to the removal of electricity from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List that now enables the 36 sub-national government of Nigeria to play huge roles in the power sector. The amendment gave them the power to get involved in power generation, transmission and distribution.
In pursuant to that, the Imo State government with a Governor who is desirous to see Imo people enjoy adequate electricity supply moved fast. The electricity deficit in Nigeria is well known to everybody and it’s not just an Imo State affair. Therefore, the Governor is very determined to see that we deal with this problem.
Immediately after the constitutional amendment, he followed it up. Note that the whole essence of the constitutional amendment on the electricity sector is to decentralize the sector to enable Nigeria to develop faster. So, when everything was set from the national level, Governor Hope Uzodimma immediately followed it up and brought in the necessary legislation through the State House of Assembly and gave us what we have today as Imo State Electricity Reforms Law 2024.
In pursuant of the devidends of that constitutional amendment, Imo as a state began its new role as a player in the electricity sector. Now, to do that, you must have a power generation plant to enable you generate, transmit and distribute power. So, there has to be a plant where we can generate power.
Luckily for us, we already had a plant that its construction was ongoing as at when the constitutional amendment was done. It became crystal clear that we must work hard to ensure it works to enable us to generate power before we can generate and distribute. The Governor, being very pragmatic, knew that we needed to get that plant working and had to approach Mr President, who graciously approved that the Imo State Government can now take over the Egbema Power Plant and complete it.
That’s how we got to where we are now. What’s the current status of the Egbema Power Plant to that FG handed over to the Imo State govt? It has reached a very advanced stage. It is a 378 megawatts plant.
I can tell you right now that it is over 70% complete. It is a project that we’re hoping that in the new year, that’s in 2025 we should be talking about the commissioning. However, you have to realize that when you’re done with the plant, you equally need to deal with the Switch Yards from where you’ll raise 33KV Lines that will be directed to major Transmission Stations here in Owerri.
Of course you’re also going to have Transmission Lines done, the Towers etc. A whole lot of things need to be fixed but we’re hoping that things are going to be done simultaneously. That’s our desire and we’re working to ensure it happens.
This is what is going to guarantee reliable and adequate electricity to the people of Imo State. What’s the Imo State Electricity Reforms Law 2024 all about? Basically, the electricity market that we’re creating in Imo State has to happen with a law. The aim of this law you want to know about is the establishment of the electricity market in Imo State.
Before now, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) exercises the regulatory oversight of the entire electricity industry in Nigeria. By the constitutional amendment and Imo State having met the necessary requirements, NERC now ceded that regulatory oversight to Imo State government which its legally established agency called the Imo State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ISERC) now does the initial job of NERC. So, right now in Imo State, we have our own electricity regulatory commission.
By this law, is NERC still responsible for regulatory oversight on the actors in the Imo electricity market? By that law, NERC has relinquished all its regulatory oversight to ISERC. You must understand that everything about this is constitutional. NERC has constitutionally ceded its powers within Imo State electricity space to ISERC and that is what it is.
By this rule, all the actors involved in the electricity sector within Imo State are now under the regulatory powers of ISERC. So, they’ll all operate according to the Imo State Electricity Reforms Law 2024 which ISERC, a product of the law, has come to implement. Does ISERC now have full responsibility to regulate the activities powerful players in the electricity value chain in Imo like GenCos and DisCos?; Yes.
Currently we have the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) operating as the Disco in charge in many South East States. But by this law and the order of NERC ceding Imo State Electricity Market to ISERC, what we used to have here as EEDC is now a sub company of the main EEDC to be regulated by ISERC. The entire distribution network that they were operating before the new era is still their network.
Nobody has taken that away from them, so let it be clear. It belongs to them, but right now, what they’ll have here will be a subsidiary of their major company that will be operating in Imo State under the regulation of ISERC. That subsidiary must be registered in Imo State and obtain a license from ISERC who will now regulate their operations here.
Orashi Electricity Company Limited is a newly licensed power company in Imo, tell me about it? The Orashi Electricity Company Limited is a Limited Liability Company operating in Imo State. The Imo State Government has interest in the company, but the majority interest is owned by the technical partners working with the Orashi Electricity Company. Power Project is a capital intensive project.
It’s not a cheap project to handle. The State government needed investors who can invest in the sector and that’s what the government has done. We’ve gotten major investors who are working with Orashi.
It is a company that has entered a memorandum of understanding with an Egyptian Electricity Company called Madkour with the government having interest. So, it’s a company that has been licensed by ISERC to generate, transmit and distribute power in Imo State. Orashi applied and got licensed by ISERC to do the business of generation, transmission and distribution within Imo State.
With recent autonomy to LGAs, How will companies like Orashi operate in the 27 LGAs of Imo State adequately? Well, everything is working perfectly well in that aspect. There’s already a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MUO) between the Imo State government, the 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State and the Orashi Electricity Company Limited. As I said, it’s already a licensed company by ISERC to generate, transmit and distribute electricity here.
Also recognizing that Power Project is capital intensive, it’s necessary to get investors that have the financial capacity and of course the technical capacity to handle such a project. That’s why we’ve all reached agreement on what’s supposed to be our own role and contribution to the entire project. So, we’ve all agreed and we’re standing by it.
So, since the electricity supply will not see any part of the 27 Local Government Areas in Imo excluded and with the recent Supreme Court’s Judgement about LGA so, they also have their resources. So, all us have to agree and it’s obvious that everyone has contributions or roles to play to ensure the success of our project and that agreement is done and dusted. Are there existing projects taken over in this new era that are set to become part of the new Imo electricity market? There are a lot of them.
I remember you made mention of Okigwe during our discussion. In Okigwe, there was a time we tried to use the old system to take 132KV to Okigwe. Note that power is better moved or transmitted with a higher voltage.
What we have in Nigeria is 330KV and 132KV. There was also a plan to transmit 132KV to three senatorial zones of Imo State. These plans have not been abandoned.
Currently, what the entire Imo State has now is 33KV running through the entire state with some from Egbu Road and from Umuahia. Places like Ihitte-Uboma and Obowo come from Umuahia. That obviously cannot guarantee adequate electricity supply and it’s been worked on.
Part of the new plan of course is to do a 330KV line from Egbema to Owerri. The whole projects listed above are some of the existing projects that we’ve taken over. They’re all going to be part of the existing market in Imo State.
I must tell you also that we’re also doing a 330KV Transmission Line from Alaoji in Aba to Owerri here as against the 132KV that’s coming from Alaoji to Owerri. It’s worthy to note that the 132KV Transmission Line from Alaoji is the only source of power into Imo State currently. So, what we’re doing now is to ensure that we use the vision of our Governor to change the history of this state.
The Governor knows that there will be no serious development in a State without adequate supply of electricity. When this project is achieved, where will it place Gov. Uzodimma in the history of leadership? I believe history will judge him rightly as a man who saw a better tomorrow for his people, meant so well for his people and right a whole lot of wrongs.
Part of the problems we have today even in the area of insecurity also has a lot to do with our electricity deficit that makes it very difficult to create a job for our people. By all standards, our electricity market should be the most viable. We have the largest gas deposit in Nigeria with about 200 trillion cubic feet.
The gas to generate power is here with us. If we’re able to utilize that based on what the governor saw and work faster to get that happening now, we’ll create jobs. Private investors will come in, industries will take over the entire space.
No investor will want to come to a place where there’s no electricity. We’ll create an enabling environment for job creation and opportunities for our young people. Everybody will be happy and the government itself will be very buoyant.
This is a drive. We’re going to achieve it. It’s not rocket science.
All it takes is having the right man on the driving seat as well as the political will that’s required to make it happen. And that’s why we’re so sure that we’re getting there and we’re very close. With steady power, where do you see Imo among the league of states in Nigeria? An Imo State with reliable, adequate and clean electricity across the nooks and crannies of the state will be a very progressive and prosperous state and that is the Imo this Government wants to see.
It will be an Imo State that’ll have more than enough energy to sell which of course will make us the envy of all. Our industries will boom, our young people will be employed, social lives will improve and insecurity will be properly tackled..
