Gas Supply Disruption in Nigeria Triggers Power Outages in Ghana and others.
Accra, Ghana – Several cities across Ghana, the Republic of Benin, and Togo are currently facing significant power outages due to a disruption in gas supply from Nigeria. The ongoing blackouts stem from maintenance work being carried out by a key gas producer in Nigeria, affecting the volumes available for transport by the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo).
In a recent statement, WAPCo announced that one of its Nigerian gas suppliers has shut down its facility for a three-week maintenance period, leading to a substantial drop in the gas available for transmission. This has directly impacted the supply to WAPCo’s customers in Togo, Benin, and Ghana.
“The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited regrets to announce that it is experiencing a drop in gas volumes available for transportation due to ongoing maintenance works by one of its gas producers in Nigeria. The current situation is entirely out of WAPCo’s control,” WAPCo stated.
While WAPCo continues to transport gas from Ghana’s Western Region to Tema, the company expects normal operations to resume after the maintenance activities are completed.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have issued a joint statement informing the public about the disruptions. They confirmed that since June 12, 2024, there has been a reduction in gas supply from Nigeria, resulting in power interruptions across various parts of Ghana.
“The West African Gas Pipeline Company, in a statement, has explained that the reduction in gas supply was due to maintenance works being undertaken by a gas supplier in Nigeria and is projected to last three weeks,” the statement read. “The maintenance has caused a reduction in overall power generation capacity in Ghana which could result in load management over the period of the work.”
GRIDCo and ECG have assured consumers that they are working closely with other stakeholders in the power sector to optimize available resources and minimize the impact of the gas supply reduction on consumers. They also extended apologies for the inconvenience caused by the outages.
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The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited operates the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), a critical infrastructure that links natural gas resources from Nigeria and Ghana to various customers in the West African sub-region. The WAGP is a bi-directional pipeline system designed to facilitate gas supply from both the east (Nigeria) and the west (Ghana).
This incident underscores the interconnected nature of energy infrastructure in West Africa and highlights the region’s reliance on Nigerian gas supplies for power generation. The maintenance work in Nigeria has had a ripple effect, leading to widespread power challenges and emphasizing the need for coordinated regional energy strategies to mitigate such disruptions in the future.
