By The Nation Newspaper
Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has expressed optimism that a combined power generation from the two power plants built by his administration would give the State about 50 megawatts of electricity that would guarantee Calabar, the capital’s steady power supply independent of the national grid.
The two power plants are situated at the Parliamentary Extension area of the capital and at Adiabo, on the outskirts of Calabar.
Speaking during a facility tour of the 26 megawatts gas-fired power plants at Adiabo, whose construction is nearing completion, the governor said he was delighted that “we have less than seven kilometers where we are going to do hot tapping of the gas with an eight-inch pipe and bring it across to our pipeline.”
He said: “The consistent generation of 26-megawatt from here combined with the one at Parliamentary Extension will give Cross River State almost 50mw of steady power, making Calabar the first city to be powered from an independent state source without falling back to the national grid.”
Prof. Ayade said the Parliamentary Extension power plant, a diesel power plant, was being converted to gas-fired to ensure about 70 percent reduction in the cost of combustion of the turbines.
Hailing Skippers, the main contractors handling the Adiabo plant, for a job well done and for involving local contractors in the project, the governor said he was happy the project was over 90 percent completed with the first firing demonstration scheduled for next month.
He urged Adiabo, the host community, “to realize that this project is your own, this project is for your own good.”
The Governor later inspected the pylon and piles factory at Akamkpa Local Government established by his administration to produce vibrated electric cables.
He described the factory “as our asset where we produce the facilities that support power generation.”