Again, gas supply hinders power generation

Again, gas supply hinders power generation
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THE issue of gas to power generation reared its ugly head again ON Wednesday as parts of the country has been thrown into darkness.
The Ministry of Power disclosed that the Oben gas facility in Delta State supplying gas to the Western axis has shut down at the instance of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)so as to carry out a leakage repair on the Ughelli—sapele line.
A release from the ministry noted: "Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) which provides natural gas to key thermal power stations in the country has declined by over 180m standard cubic feet in the last few days, leading to a considerable loss of electricity and power rationing nationwide.
"Consequently, 1200mscf of gas from Seplat, an indigenous upstream operator, is now stranded."
It added: "This development came on the heels of the ongoing maintenance work on the Chevron compressor in Escravos, Delta State, which began last week and has caused a loss of 30mscf."
The Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji said: “the total loss of natural gas supply in the wake of both the routine maintenance and the leakage repair has meant a loss of 625Megawatts, an awful loss, indeed, for a nation which used to generate 3,800 MW by last May and now produces 4,400MW”.
He named the power plants affected by the gas cutback as Egbin (the nation’s largest power facility located in Lagos State), Sapele (operated under the National Independent Power Project) and Ughelli in Delta State, Geregu in Kogi State, Omotosho in Ondo State and Olorunsogo (Phase2) in Ogun State.
Regretting the development, Nnaji assured that normal power supply will be restored within five days.

culled from guardian.