By Ugochukwu Alaribe
UMUAHIA — Residents and business owners in Aba, covering the nine local government areas of the Ukwa Ngwa zone of Abia State, have lamented the power outage that has persisted for more than two weeks, saying it has adversely affected their lives and businesses.
Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL), the operator of the Aba Ring-fenced Area, has been unable to supply electricity to the city for the past two weeks due to what it described as an inability to source gas from its supplier.
Residents and business operators who spoke to Vanguard said they had been counting their losses since the outage began.
An eatery operator in the Umungasi area of Aba North, who identified himself simply as Jerry, said he might soon be forced to shut down his businesses because of the rising cost of maintaining alternative power sources.
He said he spends about ₦50,000 daily to power the two restaurants he operates in Umungasi and Ogbor Hill.
According to him, the high cost of fuel, running the businesses, paying staff and meeting family responsibilities has become overwhelming.
“I’m afraid my businesses will soon fold up because of the high cost of maintaining alternative power supply since the outage began. Fuel now sells for about ₦1,300 per litre. I pay my staff, procure items for my business and cater for my family and dependants. How can I make a profit? It is no longer easy. The outage is affecting my business negatively,” he said.
An ice and sachet water producer also told Vanguard that she had suspended production pending the restoration of electricity, saying she could no longer afford the cost of running her generating set.
Another resident, Mrs. Ngozi Nwankwo, said the prolonged blackout had placed additional financial pressure on her family.
She explained that her household could no longer cope with the high cost of fuel needed to power their refrigerator and preserve food items.
Some residents called on the Federal Government to grant a licence to another electricity company to supply power to Aba.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Geometric Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, attributed the outage to a disruption in gas supply.
Speaking during a fact-finding visit by members of the Abia State House of Assembly, Nnaji explained that the company’s gas supplier, Heirs Energy, had reported the failure of the clutch gear and starter motor at its Associated Gas Gathering Plant in Obigbo, Rivers State, due to ageing equipment.
Apologising to residents and businesses for the disruption, Nnaji urged the Federal Government to address gas supply challenges affecting the power sector, noting that about 73 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity is generated from gas-fired power plants.
“Nigeria cannot be among the six countries with the largest natural gas reserves in the world and still be experiencing recurring gas-related power crises,” he said.
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