Governor Udom Emmanuel Will Revolutionize A' Ibom Power Sector—Dr. Victor Udo
The Managing Director of Ibom Power Company (IPC), Dr. Victor Udo believes that Governor Udom Emmanuel’s blueprint will revolutionize Akwa Ibom State power sector.
Dr. Udo addressed newsmen in his office where he commended the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for issuing Ibom power plant a licence expansion from 190MW to 685MW.
He said Governor Udom Emmanuel received the licence expansion from NERC on behalf IPC management to kick start the Phase 2 of Ibom power plant. He stated that the Governor has given the management of IPC the needed support to reposition the company to supply power for the expected industrialization of the State.
Speaking on the three pronged activities implemented in the company as directed by the Governor, the MD said “His Excellency asked me to stabilize the plant operations, build capacity and instill good corporate governance. We have done this in the last one year while summarily making the State a power exporting hub in the federation”.
On the plant stabilization, he stated that “unit 3 which is the biggest in the fleet of three, recently marked 114 days without forced outage. Unit 2 completion and commissioning is expected before 2016. We are proud of these accomplishments”.
“In the area of capacity building, the company has established a pool of interns and apprentices. A succession plan for all categories of staff is also in place. Therefore, the company is capable of exporting expertise without a void should other power generation companies across the globe decide to recruit any of our Staff” he said.
Speaking on good corporate governance, the Ibom power boss said his experience from corporate America where he practiced for over 20 years and Governor Udom Emmanuel’s vast background in corporate governance has transformed IPC into an economic asset.
“We have developed a business plan that employees understand. Our goal is for Ibom Power to be a model for moving Akwa Ibom State from civil service and government dependency into Corporate Akwa Ibom; a private sector driven society” he stated.
Addressing the issue of gas supply for the expansion of the plant’s capacity (Phase 2), the MD said “Ibom power plant will not have gas supply challenges since there is a gas infrastructure with sufficient quantity for both Phase 1 & 2 and other power plants within the region”.
He reiterated the Governor’s appeal to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, to improve its network and refund the sum of $22million Ibom Power spent on the transmission line connecting Ibom power to the rest of the national grid.
The MD also called on Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) to improve on technical and commercial operations to ensure that the impact of Government investments across the power value chain is felt by Akwa Ibom people through the provision of steady power supply.
He called on the good people of Akwa Ibom State to continue to support Governor Udom Emmanuel’s vision for the industrialization of the State and making the State a power exporting hub in the federation.