Foremost integrated power company, Geometric Power Ltd, has launched a public enlightenment campaign highlighting the dangers of illegal sale and consumption of electric power in Aba and the environs.
This is against the backdrop of alleged widespread incident of power theft in the Eastern Nigeria commercial hub, known for units and clusters of artisans and business enterprises.
A statement from the company last weekend stated that a number of individuals and groups have been capitalizing on the poor electric supply in Abia State over the years to illegally provide power to people in dire need of energy.
In the statement signed by the managing director of the Aba Power Limited (APLE), Mr. Patrick Umeh, the company described illegal power supply as “extremely dangerous to live and property.”
Mr. Umeh, who was a former commissioner with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), stressed that some domestic and commercial fire incidents in markets and homes, as well as offices and industrial concerns are attributable to such illegal connections.
The people who provide the illegal service, he continued, are not trained in how to supply electricity to the public, and so do not use the right materials. “They do not comply with the technical and professional requirements for power distribution in a community of persons,” he observed.
It is alleged that perpetrators of illegal electricity connections charge as much as N200,000 per person to connect them to distribution transformers and other power infrastructure, which the Geometric Power and Aba Power Ltd claim belong to them.
Umeh asserted that only Geometric Power Group is licensed to provide electric power to the public in the Aba Ring Fence Area which covers nine out of the 17 local government areas in Abia State.
“The individuals or groups who continue to criminally violate the clear provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005, for their selfish gains and consequently endanger the lives, businesses and property of our people to desist from their nefarious acts, or face the full weight of the laws governing electric services in Nigeria.”
The APLE helmsman explained further that the Aba Power Project initiated the campaign against the power theft “because the company stakeholders are not just investors or shareholders but also the host community and the larger Nigerian society.
“The primary reason why Geometric Power Group is in electricity business in Nigeria is to care for our people,” he said.
Be the first to know when we publish an update
