Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — After a two-week shutdown that worsened power supply across Akwa Ibom State, Ibom Power Company has returned to full operational status, restoring much-needed electricity to the national grid and reaffirming its readiness to ramp up output once gas supply stabilises.
The company’s restart comes after days of load shortages within the Port Harcourt and Afam axis, where stranded customers had complained of persistent outages linked to the plant’s downtime.
Managing Director of Ibom Power, Engr. Camillus Umoh, confirmed the return to operation and said the company was now generating 82.4 megawatts, with capacity to scale immediately once gas constraints are fully resolved.
“We’re doing presently 82.4 megawatts. Once we have gas, once we have the enabling environment, and all the linkages in the power ecosystem, we’re ready to go,” the MD stated.
Engr. Umoh said the company remains committed to supporting national energy security and expressed optimism that improving coordination across the value chain would unlock more generation in the coming weeks.
He added that with proper gas supply and grid stability, Ibom Power is positioned to play a stronger role in boosting power availability in the region.
“Once we have gas and all the linkages in the power ecosystem, we’re ready to go,” he reiterated.
The plant’s return will stabilise supply to parts of Akwa Ibom, Cross River and neighbouring southeastern corridors, where the shutdown had contributed to load shedding by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
A senior official of the state’s power sector, who confirmed the development, noted that the restart was critical given ongoing pressures on the national grid. “Ibom Power returning is a big relief. It immediately boosts available load in this axis and reduces strain on TCN dispatch,” he said.
Ibom Power’s restart also coincides with wider concerns over national power generation, which has fluctuated due to intermittent gas shortages, power plant constraints and infrastructure limitations in the transmission segment.
Before the outage, the state-owned power generation company had been averaging between 80MW and 100MW, depending on gas allocation. With the latest restart, operators expect supply to stabilise further if gas deliveries remain consistent.
