Federal Government Establishes Committee to Address Gas Supply Challenges for Thermal Power Plants

The federal government has established a committee to investigate recurring complaints about insufficient gas supply to power Nigeria’s thermal electricity generation plants and to propose solutions. This move is part of the government’s efforts to address these challenges, according to a statement by Chris Ugwuegbulam, the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations.

Despite Nigeria’s abundant natural gas reserves of over 206 trillion cubic feet (TCF), the country has struggled to harness this resource due to a lack of investment in the sector and inadequate gas transportation infrastructure, which is frequently vandalized.

The committee was set up jointly by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, during a meeting in Abuja. Its mandate is to propose strategies for ensuring a consistent and sustainable supply of gas to power plants, meeting both domestic and industrial demands.

The committee comprises members from the ministries of petroleum resources and power, regulatory agencies, operators, and key stakeholders in the gas and power sectors. The meeting was attended by directors from the ministries of petroleum resources and power.

During the meeting, Ekpo highlighted the challenges contributing to the low gas supply to thermal power plants, including decade-old gas legacy debts and vandalism of gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta region. He also mentioned the domestic pricing of gas in dollars as another challenge and expressed his readiness to collaborate with individuals, organizations, and agencies to address these issues.

Minister Adelabu emphasized the need for the two ministries to work together to resolve the problem of low gas supply to thermal power plants, aiming to achieve uninterrupted power supply in the country. He emphasized the critical role of stable power in Nigeria’s development, stating that nothing significant can be achieved without it.

In a separate development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has reassured the public that there are no immediate plans to increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, in the country. The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, advised against panic buying, stating that there is currently sufficient availability of PMS nationwide.