By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Nigerian Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has explained that gas shortage occasioned by maintenance being carried out by gas suppliers on their facilities led to the recent shutdown of its power plants on its western corridor.
In a statement, the media adviser of the power company, Mr Sanya Adejokun, said that in the morning of August 6, 2023, NDPHC received instructions from the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) to embark on a shutdown.
This directive, he said, was prompted by ongoing maintenance work being conducted at NGIC’s gas facilities.
“Regrettably, this maintenance work led to a significant reduction in the available gas quantity, reaching as low as 13MMscf. This quantity proved insufficient to adequately fuel our gas turbine, which boasts of a capacity of 125MW
“Adding to these unforeseen circumstances, the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) also communicated NDPHC about 10.30 am same day.
“Their notification outlined the challenges faced in gas supply along the western axis pipeline. This pipeline is vital as it supplies gas to five of our power plants. These supply difficulties arose due to the ongoing maintenance undertaken by Seplat, our esteemed gas supplier.
“The culmination of these events critically impacted on gas pressure, ultimately necessitating the shutdown of all our power plants” he said
While acknowledging the complexity of the challenges, Adejokun said that the company was working very hard to restore regular supply of electricity.
“We acknowledge the complex and interconnected nature of these challenges and we are actively engaged with our partners to expedite the resolution of these issues and restore regular operations.
“Nevertheless, on August 7, 2023, NDPHC’s Omotosho Power Plant achieved synchronisation with the grid. These actions were undertaken following explicit instructions and approvals received from the National Control Centre, NCC, and Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) respectively.
“A thorough review of the NCC’s daily load allocation table for August 8, 2023 underscores NDPHC’s unwavering commitment to meeting its contractual obligations.
“Specifically, we have consistently fulfilled our responsibilities in supplying some distribution companies with the
stipulated electricity capacities as delineated in the Power Purchase
Agreement (PPA).
“It is essential to highlight that in addition to the bilateral PPA established with NDPHC, both Eko DisCo and Aba Power are recipients of routine allocations directly from the national grid” the media adviser, said.