James Emejo in Abuja
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC), yesterday signed a tripartite agreement with Daystar Power Solutions Limited and The Wood Factory Limited to pioneer the delivery of its first grid-connected and solar hybrid power solution for commercial use.
It is coming on the heels of the first interconnected mini-grid power solution for communities in Nigeria launched by AEDC and its strategic partners in Toto, Nasarawa State, in November 2023.
Under the agreement, AEDC will provide 18 hours of reliable electricity supply to Wood Factory, a top furniture manufacturer while Daybreak will provide six hours of solar powered electricity to the factory, both leveraging interconnected power facilities to deliver electricity supply to the customer.
Speaking at the ceremony Managing Director/Chief Executive, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Mr. Christopher Ezeafulukwe, said the AEDC was excited about the great opportunities that the transformation and turnaround of AEDC was giving to serve its customers.
“This project is a product of our consistent questioning of the status quo in the resilient push of our conviction and belief in using diversified energy sources to serve our customers better, while closing the supply gap in our market.
“Having previously commissioned an integrated power solution to serve some unserved communities in our network, the current solution for which we signed the agreement today, is focused on serving industrials and commercials, thus repositioning AEDC to serve all bands of customers within its network better.
“The two projects also confirm to the world, the readiness of AEDC to enter into complementary partnerships that will add great value to the Nigerian electricity market,” he said.
Essentially, the integrated power solution is expected to yield an estimated 44 per cent reduction in energy costs and a 76 per cent annual decrease in carbon emissions for Wood Factory.
The unique value offering is in furtherance of AEDC’s strategic objective of redefining customers’ experience by providing reliable electricity supply to both existing and new customers, including the unserved and underserved customers.
Also, Chief Executive, Daystar Power, Jasper Graf von Hardenberg, expressed his excitement about the innovative interconnected solar installation.
He said: “Working together with Discos, we can provide reliable and affordable power to Nigerian businesses which will save on energy costs to reinvest in their operations. Our partnership with AEDC supports this position.
“It is just the beginning; we are looking forward to developing more hybrid solar projects for C&I customers in partnership with the likes of AEDC.”
On his part, Director/General Manager, The Wood Factory, Mohamed Akar, said: “We’re thrilled that we’ll soon be switching to a reliable integrated power solution to power our factory.
“For many years, we’ve operated on diesel generators, which is hardly sustainable or affordable. We believe that the future of our business has become brighter with this new partnership with AEDC and Daystar.”
AEDC has been in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) through which the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) provides funding for feasibility study grant and facilitating the optimization of energy supply through distributed solar energy and grid power.
