The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has advanced explanations on why Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) and Aba Power Limited Electric (APLE) experienced few days of power allocation shortfall and consequently, disruptions in electricity distribution to its respective franchise customers, attributing it to scheduled maintenance on gas facilities being executed by its gas suppliers.
The gas suppliers of NDPHC are Seplat and Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), implying that should there be any disruption of operations in the two companies, NDPHC power supply will be affected.
“This maintenance activity had a temporary impact on our operations, contributing to the temporary disruption in power supply,” the NDPHC said yesterday, in a statement by media adviser, Adesanya Adejokun.
However, he disclosed that Eko DisCo and APLE also have alternate power supply sources apart from NDPHC, as the two power distribution companies were connected to the national grid which is meant to ensure stability of power distribution even when disruption occurs in NDPHC due to unavoidable reasons.
He faulted reports insinuating that NDPHC exports its power supply to the Niger Republic, Togo, and the Benin Republic, saying that the only cross-border electricity purchase agreement it has is with Togo only.
According to Adejokun, “On the morning of August 6, 2023, NDPHC received immediate instructions from the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) at approximately 08:25 hours to initiate a shutdown.
“This directive 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 a capacity of 125MW (ISO rating).
“Adding to these unforeseen circumstances, the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) also communicated with NDPHC around 10:30 hours on the same day, August 6, 2023. 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 efforts undertaken by Seplat and CNL, our esteemed gas suppliers. The culmination of these events critically impacted gas pressure, ultimately necessitating the shutdown of all our power plants.”
Adejokun assured that the NDPHC is conscious of its contractual obligations, adding that the power outage had since been resolved.