The inability of Nigeria’s solely state-owned power generation company, Ibom Power Plc, to produce power from its plant is due to a 28 billion Federal Government debt, according to the firm, further exacerbating the country’s power crisis. MD, Ibom Power Plc, Camillus Umoh, said the plant with an installed capacity of 191MW has almost been continuously shut down following its gas supplier’s (Acugas) decision to stop gas deliveries due to non-payment of supply obligations.
He said his plant had received gas for only less than 30 days within the past 360 days, and the gas supplied during that period was much below capacity.
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Umoh stated that the total legacy debts of the electricity sector in Nigeria, incurred from 2015 to 2024, stood at 28 billion, of which N12.3 billion had been paid, leaving N15.7 billion which he expects to be part of talks between government officials and electricity generation firms on a repayment mechanism.
He said Acugas had introduced a pay-before-supply policy and would no longer supply gas until it receives payment for the volumes delivered.
Umoh confirmed the plant has the technical capability to generate electricity, but it cannot because it has been starved of gas.
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The plant was commissioned in 2010, it operates three General Electric turbines, with a total installed capacity of 191MW, with potential to meet the power demand within the State and also supply surplus to the national grid.
But Umoh noted the facility could not operate optimally due to liquidity challenge, unreliable gas supply and transmission constraints.
The report is indicative of the financial strains across the country’s electricity industry, with generation firms often complaining about rising legacy debt, gas and transmission constraints.
