ABIA, God’s Own State is today witnessing a complete new vista in infrastructural development. If we are to paraphrase and borrow from the late Bob Marley’s hit track, then we can say that there is a natural happiness blowing through the air in Abia.

But unlike Marley’s natural mystic, you don’t need to listen carefully to feel what is happening in Abia. It is self-evident all over, and as constant as the Northern star.

This time, the good news is the euphoria of the highly improved power distribution to parts of the state which has given residents the opportunity of enjoying uninterrupted power. So stable is the power distribution in Abia since the past two months that residents suffering from the prolonged inertia of epileptic power in the past keep wondering if what they enjoy today is real.

This latest feat which is one of the numerous pluses by the governor, Chief T.A. Orji, is as a result of the energizing of the long awaited 132 KVA Ohiya sub-station built by the State Government. Drawing from the Alaoji Main Power Station which was stepped down at Ohiya as an injection station, the Abia State Government embarked on the evacuation of power from the sub-station to all the feeders in the state.

It is to the credit of the present administration that it pursued with vigour and determination the rehabilitation and expansion of the nearly moribund energy feeders in the following locations- Afara, Nkwoegwu, Ubakala, Obowu and Ntigha to enable this evacuation.

To the layman, the evacuation term simply means moving the energy from the sub-station source to the final consumers through the rehabilitated feeders. And the state government is believed to have spent close to N2 billion to actualise the project.

With its test-run during which the power company was able to detect and rectify some teething problems seen mainly in extreme fluctuations of voltage, the project is perfectly serving over 60 percent of the state, namely: Umuahia North and South, Ohafia, Abiriba, Item Bende, parts  of Abam and Uzuakoli. Others are Isuikwuato, Ikwuano, Isiala-Ngwa North and South and parts of Obingwa.

On the fear being entertained over the sustainability of the current distribution, Chairman of Mechanical Systems Limited, MSL, Chief Tony Ukasanya, whose company executed the contract, allayed such fears which he noted were not unfounded given what the average Nigerian fears about energy distribution in the country.

According to him, this project is structured to last even eternity as long as power is being generated from the sub-stations. “Whenever power drops, this state will continue to enjoy near uninterrupted supply as PHCN still has excess energy to evacuate.

Chief Ukasanya further traced the past problems with energy generation and distribution to neglect and lack of will on the part of policy makers, while attributing the current gains to real dividends of democracy.

“Past problems were generation and evacuation. Under the military the two areas were completely neglected, and as they lacked attention, the consumption rate rose by the day, and PHCN then NEPA could not do any magic. They just had few plants, namely: Kanji, Shiroro, Delta 1, 2 and 3 as well as Egbin”.

He revealed that with the opening of the democratic space, more states and corporate entities have veered into power distribution and the result is the improved distribution to meet the demands of the consumers. “In Rivers today, there is Afam 1, 2, 3 and 4, in addition to Omoku Eleme and Trans-Amadi sub-stations. While in the South East, we have Geometrics.

“You will agree that this can only be possible in a democracy where every leader is desirous of making positive impacts on the lives of his people. This is why the people of Abia will and should remain eternally grateful to a leader like the Governor who has identified the core projects that are of relevance to his people and has doggedly embarked on them. This power evacuation is one of his success stories among the numerous others,” he added.

On the cause of the direct high voltage surge which many residents claimed destroyed their appliances during the test-run, it was discovered that the problem emanated from the transformers most of which can no longer stabilise energy before distribution to homes mainly due to old age.

The state governor in prompt response ordered through the State Ministry of Public Utilities, the immediate replacement of all moribund transformers in the affected areas so that the people’s joy will know no bounds.

In the Abia story, the new era has witnessed ripple effects in other sectors. For instance, the prices of petroleum products which had been determined at the pleasure of marketers automatically crashed with the sustained evacuation.

Most filling stations that called the bluff of government to sell subsidized products at hiked prices were forced to revert to approved pump prices. The reason being that residents and the business community no longer have need for the use of generators all the time.

Mr. COLLINS UGWUNNA, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Umuahia, Abia State.