Amidst persistent instability in Nigeria's national power system, Abia State Governor Alex Otti has declared that the state is aiming for total energy self-sufficiency.

The governor underlined that by having complete local regulatory power over its electricity sector and making targeted investments in renewable energy sources, particularly the conversion of organic waste, Abia is protecting itself from statewide blackouts.

Speaking to reporters at the Government House on Thursday, Otti emphasised the start of a pilot biogas program at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike.

"We're starting a pilot biogas program at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike," he declared. The goal is to convert garbage into clean energy and use biogas to supply renewable energy to Abia.

“This is a pilot programme. Instead of the organic waste that we are disposing, we can turn it with this technology into clean energy, and we will be able to power a whole lot more places, particularly the Umuhaia ring-fence.”

Otti further stated that the Abia State Electricity Regulation Authority (ASERA) formally assumed control of power regulation from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on December 24, 2025.

He added that negotiations for the state to acquire relevant assets from the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), which oversees power distribution in Abia, have been concluded successfully.

Otti said, “I had reported earlier that our offers to EEDC have been accepted, and we are in the process of raising the funds to pay off EEDC.

“On the 24th of December, the Abia State Electricity Regulation Authority took over the regulation of power from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. So everything about distribution, generation, and transmission is going to be regulated within the state.

“The whole idea is to ensure energy sufficiency and independence in the state, just like the Aba Power provides power for the Aba ring-fence.”

Nigeria has seen numerous national grid failures in recent months, which have caused massive blackouts throughout the nation.

Otti pointed out that Abia’s proactive actions in securing localised electricity infrastructure have already showed benefits, sparing areas of the state from these outages.

"I'm sure you would have known that our state was unaffected by some of the recent disasters because a large portion of our power assets are under our control," he remarked.

"That is the entire concept of purchasing the entire ring-fence of Umuahia. I'm glad we're making great strides in that direction," he continued.

Tuesday was the second meltdown of the national grid in four days.