NNPC, GACN, NGC Promise Improved Gas Supply To Power Plants

Stakeholders in the petroleum industry have promised to intensify efforts to resolve bottlenecks associated with gas supply to the power sector.

The stakeholders, including Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Gas Aggregating Company of Nigeria (GACN) and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), said some significant projects that would improve gas supply have been scheduled for completion in the second quarter of the month.

Similarly, the nation’s electricity distribution companies (Discos) have committed to an aggressive and sustained roll out of meters to ensure that consumers pay for only what they consume.

A statement issued yesterday at the end of the first monthly meeting of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing with operators of the power sector, notes that the Discos also agreed to patronise genuine local meter manufacturers that meet required standards. The industry operators agreed that customers who are not metered will be held accountable for the last undisputed bill.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, on Monday kicked off monthly meetings of operators in the electricity industry to identify, discuss and find practical solutions to issues facing the electricity supply industry.

The statement reads in part: “The operators were fully represented at the highest executive management levels, including managing directors and chief executive officers of Generating Companies (Gencos), Distribution Companies (Discos), and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), as well as various government agencies such as the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) responsible for the regulation and development of the electricity industry.”