By New Telegraph,Success Nwogu
Copyright newtelegraphng
The Ambassador of the United States (US) to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has said that the Aba Independent Power Project, developed by Geometric Power, Nigeria’s only integrated electric power company, is world-class.
According to Mills, it reflects the kind of innovation and commitment needed to address Nigeria’s energy challenges.
He spoke after he assessed the company on Friday, 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, according to a statement by Consultant to Geometric Power, Mr C. Don Adinuba.
Mills said: “This is world-class, reflecting the kind of innovation and commitment needed to address Nigeria’s energy challenges.”
The ambassador commended Geometric Power for its end-to-end business model, which, according to the statement, makes it the only Nigerian power group that generates power and distributes it to a dedicated area.
He said: “Nigerians are globally known for their creativity and talent, but they lack the technical training needed to maximise opportunities at home and abroad.”
After listening to Geometric Power’s Director of Training and Development, Mills, according to the statement, 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.
Chairman, Geometric Power, Prof Bart Nnaji, said Geometric Power was working with international companies to develop fresh power projects to ensure Nigeria’s energy security.
He said: “Though there are no natural disasters like earthquakes recorded in the Aba Ring-fenced Area served by Aba Power, which comprises nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State, we installed them to ensure that the Aba people have uninterrupted power in the event of any unexpected disaster.”
According to the statement, the facilities the American delegation inspected included the turbines from General Electric, the world’s biggest and oldest electricity equipment manufacturing firm, which is based in the United States.
It added that 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.
The statement further explained that the US delegation was, 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.
It added that among the people on the ambassador’s team were: the United States consul general in Lagos, Rick Swart; Chief of the Political and Economic section of the embassy, Mike Ervin; and the Chief of Public Diplomacy, Julie McKay.
