A team of power experts from the United States has arrived in Abia State to start work as the technical partner of Aba Power Limited, a subsidiary of Geometric Power Limited.
Geometric Power was founded by Professor Bart Nnaji, a former minister of Power and an engineer respected worldwide.
The team, led by Dr. Dan Waddle, is from the international arm of the National Rural Electrification Cooperative Association, NRECA, based in Arlington, Virginia, which was formed in 1942. Its international arm, founded in 1962, has provided electricity to 43 countries around the globe.
“The arrival of this high-quality technical team in Nigeria, which will work at Aba Power Limited for five years, is a huge boost to the country’s electric power sector,” explained Patrick Umeh, Managing Director, Aba Power.
According to Umeh: “We are unwavering in our commitment to make Aba Power a truly world-class company in service delivery to nine out of the 17 local government areas in Abia State.”
Umeh explained that the team of experts “will devote themselves to operations and maintenance at our firm.
“They will also be involved in the training and development of our technical workforce, most of whom came from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
“They need to update their technical knowledge and skills, just as they need to have new values and a new orientation in terms of service delivery in the 21st century”.
Umeh disclosed that though “the contract with NRECA International is by no means cheap, no sacrifice can be considered too much for the people of Aba and the environs”.
The Aba power project is expected to be commissioned later in the year.