Striking oil workers cut off gas supply to power plants

The nation may be in for dark days as striking oil and gas workers have cut off gas supply to five major thermal plants in the country. The affected power stations include Egbin, AES, Olorunsogo, Geregu and Sapele. But the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has called on the workers to call off the industrial action in the interest of the nation. In a statement yesterday, Nebo said the effect of the workers’ action on gas supply to the power plants was massive. He noted that the actions taken by members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in the course of their ongoing strike have cut off gas supply to major power stations including Egbin, AES, Olorunsogo, Geregu and Sapele. The minister regretted the adverse effect of this development on power supply at a time when government had recorded substantial progress in solving the gas problem, thereby raising peak generation in recent weeks to an average of 4,500MW, with a spinning reserve of about 300 MW. He, therefore, decried the current setback arising from the oil and gas workers’ action, curtailing supply of gas to power stations, and reducing power generation, saying that this has inevitably led to a drastic reduction in power supply across the country.

Guardian Newspaper