Uche Cecil Izuora
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has said that Aba Independent Power Project, developed by Geometric Power, reflects the kind of innovation and commitment needed to address Nigeria’s energy challenges,,describing it as a world class asset.
Mills made known his assessment of the company after he led a team of top American embassy officials on a tour of the firm’s facilities in the Osisioma Industrial layout in Aba, Abia State’s economic nerve centre.
He stated: “This is world-class, reflecting the kind of innovation and commitment needed to address Nigeria’s energy challenges”.
The facilities the American delegation inspected include the turbines from General Electric, the world’s biggest and oldest electricity equipment manufacturing firm which is based in the United States.
The Ambassador and his team also inspected the state-of-the-art digital SCADA facilities used in the distribution and management of electricity in all Geometric Power’s 30 feeders.
They were, in addition, shown the company’s massive steel tubular poles comparable to the poles in San Francisco, California, and Tokyo, Japan, which are earthquake prone.
“Though there are no natural disasters like earthquake recorded in the Aba Ring-fenced Area served by Aba Power which comprises nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State”, said by Professor Bart Nnaji, the Geometric Power chairman, told the visitors, “we installed them to ensure that the Aba people have uninterrupted power in the event of any unexpected disaster”.
The tubulars are buried 10 metres inside the ground to withstand extreme elements, Nnaji, a former Minister of Power and globally respected engineering researcher in the United States before he returned to Nigeria, explained to the Americans.
He also revealed that Geometric Power is working with international companies to develop fresh power projects to ensure Nigeria’s energy security.
The ambassador commended Geometric Power for its end-to-end business model which makes it the only Nigerian power group that generates power and distributes to a dedicated area.
“Nigerians are globally known for their creativity and talent”, said Mills”, but regretted that “they lack the technical training needed to maximize opportunities at home and abroad”.
After listening to Geometric Power’s Director of Training and Development, Mills also expressed satisfaction with the firm’s arrangements with the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for the training and retraining of its workforce.
“These arrangements make the entire enterprise a sustainable business”, he added.
Among the people on the Ambassador’s team were Rick Swart, the United States consul general in Lagos; Mike Ervin, chief of the political and Economic section of the embassy; and Julie McKay, the chief of public diplomacy.