The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through the U.S. government-led Power Africa partnership, has donated 200 distribution transformer meters, as well as other components for transformer metering, worth $105,000 (about N37.8 million) to Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC). The other components include 600 different specifications of control terminals.
“Today marks yet another important milestone in our partnership with USAID through the Power Africa Initiative,” Managing Director/CEO of AEDC, Engr. Ernest Mupwaya said after receiving the equipment. “This support and equipment will help us to ensure efficient energy accounting, thereby reducing our losses, minimizing electricity theft, and ultimately providing more reliable service”.
He said further that the donated equipment will serve as a great boost to the ongoing transformation of the company.
Engr. Mupwaya noted that Power Africa had over the past two years provided support for AEDC, not only in terms of equipment but also skills building and knowledge transfer through five experts from an international consulting company called Tetra Tech that is implementing Power Africa programs in Nigeria and several other countries in Africa.
The highpoint of Wednesday’s short ceremony was the cutting of tape to signal the official receipt of the DT meters and the other components for AEDC’s transformer metering programme.
The latest donation of DT meters brings to about $230,000 (an equivalent of N82.8 million) the value of equipment donated to AEDC by USAID since 2016, including the rehabilitation of the Kabusa Service Centre under the Lokogoma area office of the company.
A few months ago, USAID donated a bucket truck to AEDC to enhance clearing of overhead faults, which can cause service disruptions. This was after USAID had donated electricity meter testing equipment, which is also helping significantly in reducing revenue leakages from the system.
Over the past few years, AEDC embarked on a business transformation journey intended to improve its business operations. In May 2016, AEDC was among the three distribution companies in Nigeria that received technical assistance from the USAID through its Power Africa Initiative, focusing on commercial transformation.
The areas of USAID and Power Africa assistance include field support for implementation of commercial and technical processes at the operations level in the form of five full-time experts from Tetra Tech that are embedded within the Company and working closely with operations staff of AEDC. This support augments the commodity assistance, which involves the donation of equipment like the 200 meters just received last week.
Power Africa is a U.S. government-led initiative that seeks to increase electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa by adding more than 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity and 60 million new home and business connections. Power Africa works with public and private sector partners to unlock the substantial wind, solar, hydropower, natural gas, biomass, and geothermal resources on the continent.
Source: AEDC
