Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has announced that the state is no longer affected by frequent collapses of Nigeria’s national power grid, following investments in renewable energy generated from organic waste.
The governor 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 Otti, the initiative has significantly reduced the state’s reliance on the national grid and placed Abia’s electricity generation and distribution largely under its own control.
He revealed that the new power arrangement has been successfully negotiated with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), which is responsible for electricity distribution in the state.
“This is a pilot programme. Instead of throwing away waste, we can turn it into clean energy and power many locations, especially the Umuahia industrial areas,” the governor said.
Otti added that the state government is in the process of raising funds to offset obligations to EEDC, noting that discussions with the company had progressed smoothly.
He further disclosed that on December 24, the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority formally assumed regulatory control over electricity generation, distribution and transmission within the state from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
“With this development, everything about power—generation, distribution and transmission—will now be regulated within Abia State. The goal is efficiency and independence, similar to what Aba Power has achieved in Aba industrial areas,” he explained.
The governor noted that recent national grid failures did not affect Abia, stressing that a significant portion of the state’s power assets is now under its direct authority.
“You would have noticed that during the recent national grid collapses, our state was not impacted. That is because much of our power infrastructure is now within our control,” he said.
Otti described the ongoing acquisition and expansion of power assets around Umuahia as a major step toward energy security for the state, expressing optimism about the progress made so far.
His remarks came amid another nationwide grid failure earlier in the week, the second recorded in 2026, which left many parts of the country without electricity.
Abia Powers Itself with Waste-to-Energy, Escapes National Grid Collapses — Otti
