As blackout spreads across the country, the Nigerian government has taken action by paying $120 million in gas debts.
The Nigerian government has paid $120 million of the $1.3 billion owed to gas companies for supplying gas to run gas-fired power plants nationwide.
The government aims to address the power sector’s indebtedness to both electricity-generating companies (GenCos) and gas companies (GasCos). Ed. Ubong, Director of Decade of Gas Secretariat, revealed this during the ongoing 7th Edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) in Abuja.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, highlighted that the total debt owed to power generating companies stood at N1.3 trillion
Earlier, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, highlighted that the total debt owed to power generating companies stood at N1.3 trillion, with 60 per cent owed to gas suppliers. The Transmission Company attributed the recent decline in power supply to a decrease in available generation into the grid due to gas constraints.
However, Ubong emphasized that the government is developing a framework to address these challenges. He stated, “This ongoing work aims to mitigate these failures, paving the way for the industry to move beyond legacy issues. Building capacity for the gas sector is essential. We’re actively seeking interns and young professionals to support our efforts towards broader sectoral goals.”
We are confident that when that becomes fully operational, that critical link between gas and power will lead to more sustainable solutions going forward,” he said. Also speaking, the NGA President and General Counsel and Company Secretary, Nigeria LNG, Akachukwu Nwokedi, argued that huge debts on the books could erode investor confidence in greenfield investments in upstream and on critical infrastructure. “
We therefore recognise that there have been steps to clear the debts and I’m happy to hear that $120 million has already been cleared. But for us in NLNG, it’s not just clearing the debts, it is putting in place policy mechanisms that will prevent reoccurrence,” he added.
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