Abia State Government, on Wednesday, organised a stakeholders’ engagement involving personnel from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state aimed at making energy available at an international standard in the state.
This was as the state government says the electricity market in Abia is on track and is poised to utilise the available renewable energy sources in the state to provide access to electricity to all.
The Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Ikechukwu Monday disclosed this at the Off-Grid Energy Stakeholders Workshop on Abia State Off-Grid Regulations Framework organised in Umuahia, affirming, “The electricity market in Abia State is on track and it’s evolving and we aim to make it not just within the national standard but international standard.”
According to him, “The Ministry of Power and Public Utililities has the mandate to support His Excellency to fulfill his promise to Abians and one of his promises in his manifesto is to utilize the available renewable energy sources within the state to provide access to electricity to both underserved and unserved citizens. So, for this regulation to cover that sector, we thought it wise that it starts by engaging all the MDAs.”
Monday enjoined the participants to be greatly engaged in the workshop and to understand what the initiative actually is, as well as how it would affect Abia State so as to contribute effectively to the policy framework, adding that following the Electricity Act of 2023 which removed electricity from the exclusive list and gave States the leverage to regulate their own electricity, the government is working towards that.
“We are already working on the main electricity law which covers both generation, transmission, distribution, metering sectors of the market and that bill is at the Abia House of Assembly. So this programme is an addendum that will come out from the electricity law but specific to the mini-grid establishment in Abia state. So that’s what this programme is all about, it’s been financed by International Solar Alliance from India,” Monday stated.
The Commissioner further hinted that the facilitators were drawn from India and Germany to get it done, adding that the consultants are those that had worked with the federal government on the rural electrification agency at the federal level and disclosed that Abia is one of the first states to initiate it.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the governor on energy, Kachi Etolue explained that the stakeholders chosen were part of efforts to position Abia state to be amongst the states who have developed their upgraded energy’s sector into actualising the dream of Governor Alex Otti in serving the people of Abia state with clean renewable and affordable energy in the upgrade space.
“Like we all know a lot of communities are beyond the grid supply and some of the ones that are within the grid supplies are actually not supplied effectively. So, what we are doing today is to create that enabling framework and policy for the upgrade space to thrive and in getting the international support to be able to develop the upgrade space in Abia State as well as the private sector to play into the upgrade space because we know that private sector drives development in every state,” Etolue explained.
Contributing, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power and Public Utililities, Mrs. Nwanyieze Otum appreciated Gov. Otti for his resolve to enhance electricity supply to the state by initiating plans for the electricity regulations and advised the participants to make good use of the workshop to enhance their knowledge on the policy initiative and framework for the electricity regulations in the state.
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