Nigeria’s only wholly state-owned power generation company, Ibom Power Plc, suffered an extended shutdown in 2025 after an 11-month gas supply crisis linked to unpaid debts in the electricity sector.
The Managing Director of Ibom Power Plc, Camillus Umoh, revealed that the 191-megawatt Akwa Ibom-owned plant was largely inactive throughout the year due to financial challenges, poor gas availability and transmission limitations.
According to Umoh, the company was owed N28 billion by the Federal Government as part of the wider N4 trillion legacy debt accumulated in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry between 2015 and 2024. Although N12.3 billion has been paid, a balance of N15.7 billion remains outstanding.
He explained that the debt burden affected the company’s ability to pay its gas supplier, Acugas, which sources gas from the Uquo field and supplies the plant through a pipeline network.
Umoh said gas availability had dropped drastically, with the plant receiving supply for fewer than 30 days out of the last 360 days.
Even when gas was supplied, he added, volumes were often below the level required for optimal operations.
The situation forced Acugas to adopt a “pay-before-supply” policy after years of unpaid invoices, with the supplier unwilling to accumulate further debts.
The Ibom Power boss said the crisis was worsened by delayed payments for electricity generated, explaining that the company often received only 30 to 40 per cent of its monthly energy payments after long waiting periods.
He warned that the same financial challenges that created the sector’s huge legacy debt were still affecting operators and preventing critical maintenance activities.
Despite the difficulties, Umoh said the plant remains capable of producing about 82 to 83MW whenever gas is available, exceeding Akwa Ibom’s current electricity demand estimated at between 65MW and 71MW.
He noted that Ibom Power was originally designed to become a major electricity exporter, with expansion plans to increase capacity from 191MW to 685MW.
However, transmission constraints have also limited the plant’s performance.
Umoh said the Aba-Itu transmission line, which is more than five decades old, could only handle about 60MW, while the Calabar-Itu corridor has remained unavailable for years due to vandalism.
He added that the company’s ability to operate in island mode provided some relief, allowing it to supply electricity directly within Akwa Ibom when the national grid faces challenges.
Umoh stressed that Nigeria’s power sector problems could be resolved through improved funding, reliable gas supply, stronger transmission infrastructure and better coordination among stakeholders.
He warned that without addressing liquidity and credit challenges, the country risks repeating the same cycle of power sector crises.
