The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has partnered with Transafam Power to deliver 50 megawatts of embedded power to Abuja’s Idu Industrial Cluster.
The partnership is expected to boost economic activities within the industrial hub.
Located within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the Idu industrial area was designed to attract industries to the nation’s capital. However, its deplorable condition has stifled possible opportunities, with factories and offices shut down due to bad roads, poor electricity, and security concerns, among other things.
The industrial layout hosts several offices, factories and service centres such as the Abuja train terminal, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Nigeria Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, Alibert, May & Baker, Coca-Cola, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Zeenab Foods, Eagle Aluminium, City Print, among many others.
Vincent Ozoude, managing director of TransAfam, and Chijioke Okwuokenye, acting chief executive officer of AEDC, signed the deal in Abuja at the Accelerated Scale-Up of Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources Summit organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
This followed the recent changes made in the leadership of the AEDC, with the appointment of Okwuokenye as the new acting managing director. The appointment, according to the company, would reposition it as the foremost customer-focused electricity distribution firm in the power sector.
In May 2023, a Transcorp-led consortium became the core investor in AEDC, following its 60 percent acquisition of the company’s shares. Since the acquisition, the company has intensified efforts to upgrade substations, expand distribution networks, and integrate cutting-edge technologies to enhance power supply and operational efficiency.
Transafam Power Limited is one of the power subsidiaries of Transcorp Group and the core investor in Afam Genco, comprising Afam Power Plc and Afam Three Fast Power Limited.
Commenting on the deal, Tony Elumelu, chairman, noted that with the partnership, AEDC would generate power within its network, reduce reliance on the national grid, and fulfil the nation’s electricity regulations that DisCos generate 10 percent of power locally.
He said this was a major step towards providing reliable and sustainable power to Nigerians, improving the nation’s power sector, and powering growth and economic prosperity for all.
Adefisayo Akinsanya, head, marketing and corporate communications at AEDC, said the company would fulfil 82 percent of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s requirement for embedded power generation, ensuring reliable and consistent power supply to the Idu cluster.
Akinsanya said the deal marked a further demonstration of AEDC’s transformation agenda, entering the power generation sector and reducing reliance on the local grid.
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