Nigeria’s gas debts threaten electricity supply
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Gas sector debts, estimated at 639 billion naira, threaten power generation in Nigeria, according to industry stakeholders. They also point to a lack of gas investment and grid weaknesses as supply disruptions continue across the country, Punch reports.
Accumulated debts in the electricity sector are threatening the stability of electricity supply in Nigeria, industry stakeholders warned at the sixth annual conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja. They pointed in particular to the lack of a sustainable payment mechanism for gas suppliers, low investment in gas production and weaknesses in electricity networks.
On 5 November, the Nigerian Independent System Operator attributed the decline in national grid generation to insufficient gas supplies to thermal power plants and reduced water inflows into hydroelectric reservoirs. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited subsequently said its gas transmission network remained available and called for a distinction between gas production, commercial agreements and actual deliveries to power plants.
Bashiru Adoke, director general in charge of gas trading at the Nigerian National Petroleum Development Company, said the crisis over gas for power generation could be resolved, but required sustained investment and a reliable payment mechanism. He said power producers received only part of the revenues corresponding to the energy supplied, making it difficult to settle gas bills.
