Managing Director, Ossiomo Power Company, Dr Uwa Igiehon, has said the company plans to generate and distribute 1000 kilowatts to each of Edo’s three senatorial districts.
The Ossiomo power project is a 95MW power generation and distribution facility birthed through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the Edo State government and Ossiomo Power Company.
The facility powers government offices and hospitals, as well as streetlights in the Benin metropolis, and is being extended to other parts of the state.
Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Igiehon said with the company’s planned increase in power generation, industries, businesses and communities in Edo will have access to power at a very competitive cost.
He noted, “Presently, statistics have shown that while the United Kingdom has 100 percent access to electricity and other western countries have about 80 percent, Nigeria only has an estimated 50 percent access to power. However, with our planned upsurge in power generation, industries, businesses and communities in Edo will have 100 percent access at a competitive cost.
“This upsurge will help in attracting big companies to invest in the state especially as we are independent and are not planning to join the national grid; thanks to Governor Godwin Obaseki-led state government and the empowerment brought by the new electricity law in the state which has helped us overcome all the issues we had.”
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He added, “We have set up a modern energy infrastructure and all the things we use from production till it gets to the consumer are brand new.
“Our target is to generate and distribute 1000 kilowatts to each of the senatorial zones and we have designed a system that will help sustain it.
“We have over 20 facilities in the process of connection among other progress we have made which need to be sustained. A large part of our staff engineers are Nigerians and as you know, it is quite easy to maintain what you designed yourself and we have progressively built on what we have started.”
Noting that the project was birth through a public-private-partnership with the state government, the Ossiomo Power boss stated, “With the partnership with the state, there has now been a lowered barrier to entry for industries and SMEs through efficient and effective electricity market regulated by law; enhanced urban and rural dwelling through the provision of 24/7 power at a cheap and competitive cost; significant savings for government establishments; creation of over 50,000 jobs with high quality offers, as well as attraction of industrial clusters.”
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