LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Parts of Ghana and other West African countries are currently experiencing blackouts due to a prolonged disruption in gas supply from Nigeria.
According to findings there have been blackouts in several cities in Ghana, Republic of Benin and Togo, following the development.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCO) in Accra, Ghana, announced on Wednesday that it is experiencing a decrease in available gas volumes for transportation.
In a statement, WAPCO explained that one of its gas producers in Nigeria has shut down its facility for three weeks to conduct maintenance work.
As a consequence, there was a reduction in the amount of gas accessible for WAPCo to transport to 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.
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“One of the producers of the natural gas WAPCo transports from Nigeria has shut down its facility for a three-week maintenance, resulting in a decrease of gas available for WAPCo to transport to customers in Togo, Benin and Ghana. The current situation is entirely out of WAPCo’s control.
“WAPCo continues to transport gas from the Westen Region of Ghana to Tema, also in Ghana, and we expect normalcy to return after the maintenance activities,” the statement read.
As a result, the affected countries are currently grappling with power challenges, as revealed by recent findings.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana have already notified electricity consumers that certain areas are experiencing blackouts.
In a jointly signed statement, Ghana Grid Company Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana said they “wish to inform the public that due to a reduction in gas supply from Nigeria since Wednesday 12th June 2024 some areas across the country have experienced interruption in power supply.”
The statement read further, “The West Africa 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 maintenance has caused a reduction in overall power generation capacity in Ghana which could result in load management over the period of the work.”
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GRIDCo and ECG apologized to their customers and assured the public of their collaboration with other stakeholders in the power sector to optimize available resources. They aim to minimize the impact of the gas supply reduction on consumers.
“GRIDCo and ECG sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused,” the statement concluded.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited manages, owns and operates the West African Gas Pipeline, an essential regional infrastructure connecting natural gas sources to customers across the West African sub-region, notably in Ghana.
The WAGP operates as a bi-directional pipeline system, facilitating gas supply from both the eastern (Nigeria) and western (Ghana) of the pipeline system.