Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has disclosed that the state is no longer impacted by Nigeria’s frequent national grid collapses, following strategic investments in renewable energy generated from organic waste.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday at the Government House in Umuahia, Otti said his administration has introduced a waste-to-biogas initiative that converts refuse into clean energy, now being used to supply electricity across parts of the state.
According to the governor, the development has effectively shifted Abia out of the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), with power generation, distribution and transmission now managed internally.
Otti explained that the new electricity framework has been formally agreed with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), which handles power distribution in the state.
“This is a pilot programme. Instead of discarding waste, we are converting it into clean energy to power many locations, especially the Umuahia industrial clusters,” he said.
He added that negotiations with EEDC had been concluded and accepted, noting that the state government is currently mobilising funds to settle outstanding obligations.
The governor further revealed that on December 24, Abia officially assumed control of electricity regulation through the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority, taking over responsibilities previously handled by NERC.
“Everything about generation, distribution and transmission is now regulated within the state. The goal is efficiency and independence, similar to what Aba Power already provides for Aba industrial areas,” Otti stated.
He noted that recent nationwide grid collapses did not affect Abia, attributing this to the state’s growing control over its power assets.
“You would have noticed that during the recent national grid failures, Abia remained unaffected because significant portions of our power infrastructure are now under state authority,” he said.
Otti expressed optimism over ongoing efforts to fully acquire the Umuahia industrial power assets, describing the process as a major step toward energy self-sufficiency.
His remarks come amid another nationwide power disruption, as Nigeria’s national grid collapsed for the second time in 2026 on Tuesday, leaving several parts of the country in darkness.
