By Musa Adamu
Abuja
Nigeria’s Genesis Electricity Limited (GEL) has been named among other power related companies who won top awards at the African Utility Week Industry Awards in Cape Town, South Africa.
Others are Ugandan National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Zambia’s ZESCO and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
A statement by the organisers said the continent’s leading utility and sector professionals and projects were honoured and successes in the industry in 2013 celebrated at the event.
It said thousands of power and water professionals gathered for the 14th annual African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and expo during which the focus was on energy and water efficiency, back-up electricity supply, clean energy solutions and Pan-African cooperation.
The Nigerian company, GEL, won the award for top African Power Utility. “The company is one of the first IPPs that are executing a 78mw power plant for the supply of power to one of the two functional refineries in Nigeria.
“Genesis Electricity has developed IPPs in a few countries in Africa, and is in the process of acquiring a 1020mw Thermal IPP in Nigeria,” the statement said.
In his response, the CEO of GEL, Akinwole Omoboriowo II, in a statement, conveyed the company’s happiness with honour.
“We are elated, and indeed humbled by so great an honour to be recognised with an award of such magnitude. We congratulate the federal government of Nigeria for creating and fostering a vibrant enabling environment for the Power Sector in Nigeria, and for granting us the opportunity to invest in the construction of the 84mw Off-Grid Electric power supply solution to the largest complex refinery in Sub-Sahara Africa: the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex, “he said.