191MW Ibom Power Plant Suffered 11-month Gas Cutoff, Generation Shutdown in 2025 Over N28bn FG Debt

–         Acugas cancels contract, demands upfront payment after year-long supply drought

–         Firm gets only N12.3bn, balance of N15.7bn up for negotiation as FG meets Gencos Tuesday 

–         Weak, vandalized transmission lines hinder evacuation as supply crisis persists nationwide 

Peter Uzoho 

Nigeria’s only existing wholly state-owned power generation facility, the Ibom Power Plant suffered a shocking 11-month gas supply shortage and resultant generation shutdown in 2025 largely due to the N28 billion owed the company by the federal government as part of the power sector’s N4 trillion legacy debt spanning 2015 to 2024.

Managing Director of Ibom Power Plc, Mr. Camillus Umoh, disclosed this during an interaction with THISDAY on the state of the Akwa Ibom State-owned generation company.

Umoh detailed how crippling liquidity constraints, gas supply failures and transmission bottlenecks had left the 191 megawatts (MW) plant largely idle for most of 2025 despite being built to export power. 

He explained that Ibom Power, which came into operation in 2010, had three installed General Electric turbines: two 6Bs of 38MW each and one 9B of 115MW. The plant’s gas supply, he said, comes from Acugas’ Uquo field, about 62 kilometers away, through an infill pipeline.

“This is actually our gas supply story for 2025. In fact, for the past 360 days, aggregated availability days is under 30 days. I repeat that. For the past 360 days, calendar-wise, 12 months, the aggregated supply days is less than 30 days.

“And of these 30 days gas supply, not all are on maximum level. Some are on suboptimal level. Maybe 30-40 per cent of what you optimally should need for your plant. And that leads us to operating at suboptimal level. 

“And Acugas has told us they don’t want to subject themselves to 10-year-old debts again. Our gas supply ended last month (June). And they told us going forward, if you don’t upfront pay us, we’re not going to give you gas. This was after three months of discussions and all that.”

According to him, the plant’s operational history had been dogged by missed maintenance cycles prescribed by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) — General Electric (GE), foreign exchange volatility, and project financing challenges. 

Umoh linked the current crisis to the wider N4 trillion legacy debt in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

He disclosed that the federal government and power generating companies (Gencos) would meet on Tuesday to discuss the repayment plan for 52 percent of the debt, with negotiations covering obligations dating back to 2015. 

Umoh further narrated: “Now to the gas issue. I’m sure you know the power situation in the country and the N4 trillion debt. Some people say N3.3 trillion, some people say N6.3 trillion and all that. 

“As a matter of fact, on Tuesday, we have to be in Abuja to discuss repayment plan for 52 per cent of the N4 trillion debt that some date back to 2015. We call it legacy debt. 

“And we’re talking of a debt that is being paid back without interest, without a consideration for alternative use of those funding, and without a consideration for the perceived margins that have come from those operations. So, once you have a depreciation on your money value, you know what that means.

“It means some scheduled things will not be done. That is the peculiarity of the power sector participants”. 

He lamented that the debt was being settled without interest or compensation for value depreciation, leaving operators unable to fund scheduled maintenance. 

For Ibom Power specifically, he said the federal government owed N28 billion, of which only N12.3 billion had been paid. 

The balance of N15.7 billion would be on the table at Tuesday’s meeting between the federal government authorities and other affected Gencos.

“For Ibom Power, we’re owed N28 billion, of which we owe all the money ascribed to the gas generation company, and we’re paid plus or minus about N12.3 billion. So, we’re going to discuss the tranching and the repayment plan for the balance of N15.7 billion. That’s what we’re going to discuss on Tuesday in Abuja.

“By the way, this repayment is not all cash-backed. About 50 per cent of that is cash, and the other 50 per cent is bond and you have to redeem your bond with a discount.

“So that’s the exposure and the vagary that the players are subjected to”, he said.

He added that the settlement was not fully cash-backed, with about 50 percent to be paid in bonds that would have to be redeemed at a discount. 

He stressed that the poor remittance cycle had worsened the gas crisis. 

Every month, he said, the company’s energy invoice was paid only 30 to 40 percent of its value after a 60-day waiting period, with no certainty on when the balance would be settled. 

That pattern, he said, was a repeat of the conditions that created the N4 trillion legacy debt. 

On gas availability, Umoh stated that turbines were designed to run 250 to 300 days nonstop annually, but Ibom Power had not enjoyed such stability. 

He revealed that for the past 20 months, Acugas had provided epileptic supply, and in 2025 the situation collapsed. 

He disclosed that in the last 360 days, aggregated gas supply days were under 30, and not all were at maximum level. 

Some deliveries were at 30 to 40 percent of optimal requirement, forcing the plant to operate sub-optimally or shut down entirely. 

Umoh said Acugas had now moved to a “pay-before-supply” regime, informing Ibom Power that it would no longer deliver gas without upfront payment after accumulating N28 billion in unpaid invoices. 

The managing director explained that the supplier also faced technical well challenges requiring cash to fix, but was unwilling to risk another decade of debt. 

Despite the constraints, Umoh said the plant was generating 82 to 83MW whenever gas was available, above Akwa Ibom’s current demand of 65 to 71MW as recorded by the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC). 

He noted that Ibom Power was conceived to be a net exporter of electricity, with plans to scale from 191MW to 685MW in phase two. 

He noted that evacuation remained another major hurdle being faced by the plant.

According to him, the state was supposed to have two transmission corridors: Aba-Itu and Calabar-Itu but that the 78-kilometer Aba-Itu line was 51 years old and could carry only about 60MW, while the Calabar-Itu line had been out for four years due to vandalism. 

He said the aging Aba-Itu line often forced the plant to ramp down even when it was able to generate, because the network could not take more than 60MW. 

Umoh, however, pointed to one advantage working for the company: the plant’s island mode capability, which allowed it to supply power directly within Akwa Ibom whenever the national grid was constrained. 

He reiterated that the company could generate but was hamstrung by gas and payment issues. 

He maintained that the same conditions that produced 11 years of legacy debts were being repeated, and questioned whether stakeholders understood the foundational problems of the sector. 

He insisted that gas and transmission challenges were solvable, but required disciplined execution, integrated infrastructure development, bankable markets and collaboration across the value chain. 

Until liquidity and credit risk were fixed, he said, Nigeria would keep reproducing the same crisis.