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Ossiomo Power Plant: We lost over $1.9m in five days to gas disruption, says Obaseki

By Michael Egbejule, Benin City
15 August 2022   |   4:34 am
Over $1.9 million has been lost in the last five days due to disruption of gas supply to Ossiomo Power Plant in Ologbo, Ikpoba-Okha Local Council of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has said.

An aerial view of a sub-station of 55mw CCETC-Ossiomo Power Plant on Sapele Road, Benin City.

Over $1.9 million has been lost in the last five days due to disruption of gas supply to Ossiomo Power Plant in Ologbo, Ikpoba-Okha Local Council of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has said.

The power project is a brainchild of the Obaseki-led state government to make the state self-sustaining in power supply.

The 95MW facility, which came through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ossiomo Power Company, powers government offices and hospitals, as well as streetlights in Benin metropolis.

Emotan Gardens Estate, Edo Tech Park, Edo Creative Hub, among others, reportedly enjoy 22 to 24 hours of stable electricity supply daily. The power is extended to the Edo Enterprise and Industrial Park to spur industrialisation.

Obaseki, who received the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), South South Zone led by the Chairman, Archbishop Israel Ege, at the Government House, Benin City, called for urgent action to reverse the troubling situation.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, said the failure of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to ensure steady power supply to Edo people led to the establishment of the power plant to liberate the people from darkness.

He said: “You talked about Ossiomo Power Plant, which is why I said Nigeria’s problems are man-made. For the past five days, Ossiomo has not been working because someone went to switch off the gas station. Now, there is no gas to power the system.

“The inability of the plant to supply electricity to the people is causing Nigeria to lose over $1.9million. We are losing revenue and nobody cares about that. Instead, they are just sitting in Abuja doing nothing about it.”

On the challenges with the old system, he said: “We sold our collective heritage all in the name of privatising the power sector. We sold them to people that never understood or had the idea of developing the electricity sector or solving our electricity problems. They bought it, failed to invest in it and want to make profit in the shortest possible time. They are the reason we are all in darkness in Nigeria.

“We have the Ossiomo Power Plant because BEDC refused to work. We tried to help BEDC to work, but it just refused to work and preferred to put the people in darkness. We set up a committee to understand what the issues were. We went to villages and communities to ensure we defrayed the debt owed BEDC. We put in our best as a government in ensuring we support and encourage them to ensure they serve and work for the people.”

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