Aba Power lights River state communities for the first time in 10 years

Communities in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State are celebrating their first reliable electricity supply in more than ten years after Nigeria’s newest power distribution company struck an unprecedented cross-jurisdictional deal to service customers outside its licensed territory.

Aba Power, a privately-held distribution company headquartered in Aba, Abia State, began supplying power to Etche LGA residents, technically within the franchise area of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, or PHEDC, following negotiations brokered by local government chairman Chima Njoku and sanctioned by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.

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“It has been a week now that electricity has not blinked for a second in these communities,” Edise Ekong, Aba Power’s senior brand and communications manager, told reporters, attributing the stability to the company’s gas-powered generation model.

The deal is unusual in a sector where Nigeria’s 11 legacy distribution companies have long operated within rigid geographic franchises drawn up at privatization. NERC’s willingness to approve a cross-boundary supply arrangement signals possible regulatory flexibility as the Commission comes under pressure to address chronic underservice in areas poorly served by incumbent utilities.

Ekong said his company was initially hesitant when Njoku approached them. “We were sceptical since the LGA falls within PHEDC’s jurisdiction,” he acknowledged, but said persistent pressure from the local chairman ultimately drove Aba Power to engage regulators and reach a multi-party agreement.

For residents, the politics are secondary to the light now in their homes. Bernadette Obi, who runs a fishing business in the Umuola community, said the restoration of power had been transformative. She credited Njoku, who she said purchased distribution transformers for multiple communities using local government funds to ensure broad coverage before reconnection.

Njoku himself was effusive at a gathering outside his office, drawing a biblical parallel to describe his sense of relief. The chairman had made electricity access a centrepiece of his election campaign.

Expansion Ambitions

Beyond the immediate story in Etche, Aba Power’s Ekong disclosed that the utility is in active discussions with unnamed state governments, communities, and large manufacturing firms outside its core Abia State footprint. He said the parties would be identified “at the right time,” but confirmed the conversations were substantive.

Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th and newest distribution company, operates within a ring-fenced area covering nine of Abia State’s 17 local government areas centred on Aba, one of West Africa’s busiest commercial and manufacturing hubs. The company has positioned itself on service quality and tariff transparency as differentiators in a sector battered by consumer distrust.

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If the cross-boundary model gains wider regulatory acceptance, it could reshape competitive dynamics across Nigeria’s long-troubled power distribution sector and put pressure on underperforming incumbents in ways that decades of regulatory enforcement have failed to achieve.

Nigeria generates roughly 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of electricity for a population of over 220 million people, leaving large swaths of the country, including many communities in Rivers State, with little or no grid access.