Gas Shortage Hinders 10,362.5mw

• Gas Shortage Hinders 10,362.5mw

Gas shortage to thermal power plants between April 2 and 4 hindered the generation of 10,362.5 megawatts of electricity, according to power generating companies.

Industry figures show gas shortage hindered 3,393MW, 3,478MW and 3,491.5MW on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of April, respectively. This translates to N7.87 billion in value.

Joy Ogaji, the Executive Secretary, the Association of Power Generation Companies, explained that power generating companies are willing to support government efforts at ensuring people stay at home during this period but stressed that gas shortage remains Gencos hindrance to power generation.

She said, “There is a shortage of gas supply for thermal generation companies. Thermal power from gas and steam turbines accounts for about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s power generation.”

According to the generating companies, gas suppliers want upfront payment before they deliver gas to power generators and the Gencos cannot meet that demand presently given the liquidity issues in NESI.

“From the Gencos point of view, we are willing to invest to increase the capacity of our power plants and provide necessary investments to cater for maintenance and the repair,” Ogaji stated.

She also said, “Generation companies are willing to work with relevant stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, two critical stakeholders with oversight over gas resources, to develop novel approaches in making gas available for generation companies.

“If answers to Gencos most pressing/pertinent questions (such as, can we be fully dispatched? Can we get gas and who is paying for the power?) can be sorted out; then, power supply issues of the nation will be a thing of the past.

“Gas and transmission (evacuation) are critical and urgent needs outside the control of the generation companies and for this, it calls for urgent government intervention.”