NDPHC Denies Exporting Power to Niger, Benin, Gives Reason for Supply Disruption to Eko Disco, Aba Power
- NDPH explained that the shortfall it recently experienced is a result of planned maintenance on gas facilities by gas suppliers
- This is against an earlier report that the power company is experiencing an outage because there was no gas
- A disruption to the activities of Seplat and Chevron as major suppliers affect NDPHC
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has explained why Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) and Aba Power Limited Electric (APLE) experienced a few days of power allocation shortfalls and subsequently disruptions in the distribution of electricity to their respective franchise customers.
In a statement by media adviser, Adesanya Adejokun, the NDPHC attributed the shortfall to planned maintenance on gas facilities being carried out by its gas suppliers.
Source: UGC
This is against an earlier report that the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which supplies power to the Eko DisCo and Aba Power Ltd, has been experiencing power disruptions since Sunday because it lacks gas to fuel its 10 units.
According to the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC), Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian government spent N36 billion to subsidise energy usage in the first quarter of 2023.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Directive was prompted by ongoing maintenance work
Leadership reported that given both Seplat and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) are NDPHC's gas suppliers, any interruption in business operations at either company could have an effect on the organization's power supply.
However, Adejokun revealed that Eko DisCo and APLE were also backup power sources in addition to NDPHC because they were both connected to the national grid, which is intended to ensure that power distribution remains stable even in the event that NDPHC experiences a disruption due to unforeseen circumstances.
He disputed claims that implied NDPHC exported its power supplies to Togo, the Niger Republic, and the Benin Republic, claiming that Togo was the only country with whom it had a cross-border electricity purchase arrangement.
He stated that at around 8:25 a.m. on August 6, 2023, the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) gave DPHC immediate instructions to begin a shutdown.
He claimed that continuing maintenance being done at the gas facilities of NGIC was what led to the instruction.
Sadly, he said, the repair work caused a considerable decrease in the amount of gas that was readily available, dropping as low as 13MMscf, leaving insufficient gas to properly feed the gas turbine, which has a capacity of 125MW (ISO rating).
He observed that the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN), which also contacted with NDPHC on the same day, August 6, 2023, approximately 10:30, added to these unforeseen circumstances.
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.
The continuing maintenance initiatives carried out by Seplat and CNL, its major gas suppliers, according to Adejokun, are to blame for these supply problems.
He stated that the NDPHC is aware of its contractual duties and added that the power outage had since been resolved. He noted that the combination of these events critically damaged gas pressure, ultimately forcing the shutdown of all our power units.
Nigerians Access More Prepaid Metres as DisCos Install 171,107 in 3 Months
The number of prepaid metres installed continued to grow slowly in the first quarter of 2023, from 164,612 metres installed in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 171,107 metres installed in Q1 2023, according to a Legit.ng reported.
This indicates a 3.95% quarter-over-quarter increase in the number of installed metres
Source: Legit.ng
