Uche Cecil Izuora
A gas leak and facility process upset on the Associated Gas Gathering (AGG) facilities around the Rivers State capital axis have caused a considerable electricity shortage in the Aba Ring-fenced Area, comprising nine of the 17 local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State, it has been revealed.
According to sources the incidents occurred in the AGGs in Obigbo and Agbada, both on the outskirts of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
“The incidents are at Obigbo near Port Harcourt and at Agbada which is between Port Harcourt city and the airport”, stated one of the sources, an engineer with the NNPC Marketing Limited (NGML), who revealed that the process upset at Obigbo was discovered earlier but “it does not seem as serious as that of Agbada”.
Engineer Vincent Chukwueke, a respected gas specialist who used to be a top executive with The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), explained that for safety reasons, such incidents may have caused Heirs Energies, the operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 to suspend gas supply to the 188MW Geometric Power Plant in the Osisioma Industrial Layout of Abia, which, in turn, provides electricity to Aba Power for distribution to the Aba Ring-fenced Area.
“It had to suspend gas supplies so as to quickly resolve the issues at the AGGs”, Chukwueke said today.
The Aba Power Managing Director, Ugo Opiegbe, confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone that his utility has “been constrained to make do with only 25MW from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) since yesterday when the supply from the embedded power plant was ceased.
“The supply from the NDPHC is a fraction of what we can generate from our three turbines, as each produces 47MW”.
While expressing regret that the reduction in electricity supply “should come during the Easter holidays”, he said, adding that “we are taking every step necessary to restore full supplies between today and tomorrow, so that our people can continue to enjoy the long holidays ”.