The Federal Government says it has paid over $120 million to offset a portion of the money owed to gas companies (GasCos) for electrical energy technologies.
The Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Ed. Ubong, made this revelation on Thursday during the ongoing seventh Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024), taking place in Abuja.
As previously announced by Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, the government is working to address the country's debt to electricity-generating companies and gas companies.
“The arrears fuel producers are owed as of last year was about $1.3billion. However I’m happy that between October 2023 and the top of January, the federal government has paid over $120 million to offset a few of that cash,” He mentioned.
The minister said that a total of N1.3 trillion is what is owed to electricity-generating companies, with 60% of the debt owed to gas suppliers.
The Transmission Company also claimed that gas restrictions were to blame for the present drop in electricity supply, since fewer technologies were being introduced into the system.
According to the report, the amount of bulk energy available on the transmission grid for subsequent transfer to the distribution load centres around the country was influenced by the gas constraints.
Ubong, however said, that the federal government is working on a plan to lessen majority of that failure. He said it's a work in progress, but anticipates that it will be approved eventually, allowing the trade to get over that legacy challenge.
The president of the Nigerian Gas Association, Akachukwu Nwokedi said, one of the factors undermining investors' confidence is the legacy debt owed to players in the electrical energy value chain. He emphasised the need for insurance policies to stimulate industry growth and attract investment.
