Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has announced that the state is no longer impacted by power outages caused by repeated collapses of Nigeria’s national grid, following investments in renewable energy generated from organic waste.
Otti made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking with journalists at the Government House in Umuahia, explaining that his administration has begun converting waste materials into biogas to generate electricity for residents.
According to the governor, the new power arrangement has reduced Abia’s dependence on the national grid and placed electricity generation, distribution and regulation fully under the control of the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority.
“This is a pilot programme. Instead of throwing away waste, we can turn it into clean energy, and we will be able to power a lot of places, particularly the Umuahia industrial areas,” Otti said.
He explained that the state has successfully negotiated the new arrangement with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), adding that Abia is in the process of raising funds to pay off the utility company.
Otti said regulatory oversight of electricity in the state was formally transferred from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to Abia on December 24, allowing the state to independently regulate power generation, transmission and distribution.
“The whole idea is to ensure efficiency and independence in power supply, just like Aba Power provides electricity for Aba industrial areas,” he said.
The governor noted that Abia was unaffected by recent national grid collapses because a significant portion of its power assets now falls under state control.
“I am sure you are aware that during the recent national grid failures, our state was not affected. That is the whole idea of acquiring and controlling the Umuahia industrial power assets,” he added.
Otti said the government was making steady progress with the project, expressing confidence that it would improve power stability and support economic activities in the state.
His remarks come amid another collapse of the national grid on Tuesday, the second recorded in 2026, which plunged several parts of the country into darkness.
