. Gas supply crisis drops Nigeria’s electricity generation from 4,000MW to 2,000 MW daily average
The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, has hit N1,300 per kilogram (Kg) in Lagos, Nigeria.
The price was hiked from N1,100 per kg less than 24 hours ago, a survey by Platforms Africa showed.
Further checks showed that the price is around N1350 per kg in Ilorin and N1500 in Bayelsa.
Consumers have also been paying a price ranged between N1250 and N1300 for a kilogram of LPG in Lagos and Ogun states when Platforms Africa conducted the market survey on Thursday.
“You now need up to N16,250 to fill a 12.5kg cylinder of gas contrary to N13,750 you used for the same product yesterday,” this leading online media group learnt.
Executive Secretary of National Association LPG Marketers (NALPGAM) Bassey Essien, was not available for comment when Platforms Africa put calls across to him on Thursday. Some marketers and retailers however blamed the high prices on hike in cost of delivery.
“The price is now N1,300 per kg here. You can be lucky and see it for N1250 per kg elsewhere. It is not our fault. The amount we pay to get the product delivered to us has increased tremendously. It is the price range we bought it that will determine how much we will sell it,” Ebun Adesanya, a retailer at Abule Egba, told Platforms Africa.
The gas crisis has also reportedly affected the power sector as the grid remained below 3,500 megawatts despite an installed capacity of 13,000 megawatts.
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While there were about 20 power plants on the grid, the level of generation fluctuated between 3,000MW and 3,500MW as industries and homes face supply challenges in the face of rising tariffs.
This comes as the Nigerian government set up a committee to find a solution to the dwindling electricity generation crisis.
The committee is confronted with the inability to pay gas producers $1.3 billion.
The debt and drop in generation are
coinciding with the return of subsidies on electricity tariffs, even as an N1.7 trillion shortfall is expected in 2024.
Nigeria’s electricity generation has dropped to an average 2,000 megawatts from the previous average of 4,000MW.
The committee, which focuses on an intra-ministerial approach, would bring together the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, and the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, to suggest ways and means of achieving sustainable
gas supply to power plants.
As of the third quarter of last year, about 20 out of 27 electricity plants on the Nigerian grid were significantly underperforming, with some operating at a mere 0.2 per cent of their installed capacity.
Platforms Africa
