An official said the electricity company is owing its power suppliers N5.2 billion because residents were refusing to pay for power consumption.
Aba Power Ltd (APL), a subsidiary of Geometric Group, has appealed to Aba landlords in Abia State to assist the company to ensure that their tenants pay electricity bills regularly.
The Chief Executive Officer, Geometric Group, Berth Nnaji, made the appeal at a meeting with Aba landlords in Ngwa Road on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that APL, an electricity distribution company, took over power supply to Aba Ring-Fenced Area from Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in February 2022.
The Aba Ring-Fenced Area consists of Osisioma, Isiala Ngwa North and South, Aba North and South, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East and West local government areas of Abia.
Mr Nnaji said the company was owing its power suppliers N5.2 billion because Aba residents were using electricity but refusing to pay.
He said that after paying its engineers and staying in court and incurring other expenses for nine years, the company paid EEDC $26 million instead of $11.8 million EEDC bought Aba area.
Mr Nnaji said the company had spent so much money, hence urged residents to assist it by paying their bills to enable them to get better service.
He said APL did not reduce the power they were buying from Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) but that the NDPHC cut its supply to APL because of debts.
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Mr Nnaji said the Geometric electricity generating turbines in Osisioma, the company's headquarters, would start firing in June or July 2023.
According to him, this will help to stabilise power supply in Aba.
He said that Geometric Power, the generating arm of the business, was expected to spend $2.2 million on 30 million standard cubic meters of gas monthly.
Mr Nnaji, therefore, urged residents to support his company's effort to stabilise power supply in the commercial city with timely payment of their bills.
Responding, the President-General, Aba Landlords Development Association, Alphonsus Udeigbo, demanded that residents should be billed according to the energy consumed and not by estimation.
Mr Udeigbo also requested that residents be given prepaid meters in order to reduce the challenge of payment defaults.
"When you do these things, the business will be easier for you and Aba residents," he said.
