The president of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), Dada Thomas, has warned that the entire power sector would be plunged into crisis if the gas producers in the country stops supplying gas to the Power Generation Companies (GenCos) as they have threatened.
Thomas said that the only thing that could forestall the looming crisis is if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) releases the N701 billion intervention fund meant for the sector.
The gas producers are protesting that the GenCos were owing them huge amount of money from gas supplied to them.
Many stakeholders are of the view that if the threat was carried out, it might plunge the country into darkness, because about 85 per cent of the Nigeria’s power is generated from thermal (gas-fired) plants.
It was gathered that the GenCos owe the gas producers over $500 million (N153.125 billion at N306.25 per dollar) and this serves as a snag to their operations and difficulty in repaying their loans and investing in new gas projects.
According to the spokesperson of Gencos, Joy Ogaji, the threat from the gas producers is generating fears among the stakeholders in the sector, as GenCos are currently handicapped to offset the debts owed gas producers.
