A persistent disruption in the gas supply from Nigeria is causing blackouts in certain areas of Ghana and other West African countries.
Following the development, there have been blackouts in a number of Ghanian, Beninois, and Togolese cities, according to Punch findings.
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited in Accra, Ghana, declared on Wednesday that the volume of gas available for transport had reduced.
WAPCO said one of its gas producers in Nigeria was carrying out some maintenance works. As a result, the gas producer was said to have shut its facility for three-week maintenance work.
Thus, it said there was less gas available for WAPCo to deliver to its clients in Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
The statement read “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.
“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.”
Findings show that as a result of the development, the impacted countries are currently facing electricity issues.
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 continues, “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.”
While GRIDCo and ECG expressed regret to their customers, they also assured the public that they were working with other power value chain players to maximize available resources to minimize the impact of the gas supply reduction on consumers.
