Nigeria's Ibom Power Struggles to Generate Electricity Amid Gas Crisis

Nigeria's Ibom Power Company Limited (IPC) has struggled to generate electricity due to a prolonged gas supply crisis at its 191-megawatt power plant. The company received natural gas for only about 30 days over the past 12 months, forcing repeated shutdowns and leaving the plant idle for almost 11 months.

The Managing Director of Ibom Power, Engr Camillus Umoh, blamed the disruption on the failure to fully settle legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies. The Federal Government still owes IPC about N15.7 billion out of a total N28 billion legacy debt accumulated since 2015, Umoh said.

Acugas, the gas supplier, has stopped extending credit and switched to a strict 'pay-before-supply' arrangement due to the unpaid obligations. Ibom Power's experience reflects the wider financial crisis confronting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), where electricity generation companies are collectively owed trillions of naira for power already delivered to the national grid.