The country’s electricity supply situation is set to improve as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, said it had concluded repair works on the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline, ELP, and gas supply had been restored to the affected power plants.
The NNPC, in a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the speedy repair of the pipeline followed the directive by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Maikanti Baru, to carry out an assessment of the damage with a view to promptly resolving same. He said:
“Escravos-Lagos Pipeline, ELP, which came down last week as a result of a fire incident has been restored and gas supply to customers on the line including power generating companies resumed.” He stated that with the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply, the affected power plants with a combined generating capacity of 1,143 megawatts, MW, will resume power generation.
Ughamadu identified the affected power plants as: Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State; Olorunshogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunshogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun State and Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State. He noted that a section of the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State, had went up in flames on January 2, 2018 as a result of bush fire, affecting gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos states with subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.
The NNPC spokesperson explained that the 36-inch Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System, ELPS, is a natural gas pipeline built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption utilization areas.
