Power supply worsens as 19 power plants shut down

Nineteen thermal plants in Nigeria have been shut down after militants knocked out the Forcados export pipeline last February and the Escravos- Lagos link early May, New Telegraph reports.

The Chief Executive Officer of Egbin power plant, Dallas Peavey Jr., said that the shortage of gas supply is a big threat to the plant’s plan to double power generation.

Egbin is Nigeria’s largest power facility whose output has fallen to less than 10 per cent of its 1320-megawatt capacity.

“For all the plants, there’s no gas,” Peavey said, adding, “We’re sitting idle here.” Until the violence ends and the gas supplies resume, Peavey has shelved plans to double Egbin’s output. “We can’t double the capacity if we can’t find the fuel,” he said.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu on Thursday in Vienna that the Forcados pipeline will reopen in July.

Spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Precious Okolobo, had earlier said that repairs were continuing on Forcados. Government officials say Escravos may not open until September, according to Peavey.

Meanwhile News24 reported that militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, have claimed responsibility for pipeline explosions affecting the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba and Clough creek-Tebidaba pipelines in Bayelsa State.

Taking to their Twitter page to state that the attack was orchestrated by the group, the Niger Delta Avengers declined to mention who the pipelines are run by.

    At about 2:00am today @NDAvengers blew up the Ogboinbiri to Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba Crude Oil pipelines in Bayelsa State.