With the completion of the installation of 33KVA lines and a sub-station at the Edo State Secretariat complex, the much-awaited 55MW CCTEC-Ossiomo Power Plant is set for test run in the next couple of weeks, opening up the state’s power sector for competition for the benefit of residential and industrial consumers.
The CCETC-Ossiomo benefits from a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) entered with the Edo State Government, which paves way for the supply of stable electricity to government buildings and public utilities, such as hospitals, offices, street lights, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and other such public facilities.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the coming on stream of the power plant would cement the state’s status as a hub for power generation and distribution in the country, as power consumers would now have a flexible regime that guarantees that they buy power from willing sellers.
He noted that the 55MW CCETC-Ossiomo power project is unique and critical. He pointed out that it is a fulfilment of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s promise to bring in investors into the power sector and improve the sector for optimal performance; that the success of the project also provides the state government a good partner in industrializing the state.
Observing that the state government is proud with the series of work so far, he added that for this project, the company laid 104 high tension poles from Ologbo to the Benin By-pass, which indicates the level of investment made in ensuring that a solid infrastructure is put in place for the success of the project. He recapped that with the test run, some government offices and streetlights on the Sapele Road corridor would be powered from the plant.
Daniel Ejodamen
(FIC, Benin City).
