*Restores hope for improved power supply
Ike Amos
08 January 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Monday, said it has concluded repair works on the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline (ELP), raising hopes of an improved supply of electricity in the country.
The country had, over the last one week, been faced with blackout and a significant decline in the power supply, following the shutdown of the pipeline as a result of a fire incident on the facility.
The NNPC, in a statement in Abuja, said the ELP which came down last week as a result of a fire incident had been restored and gas supply to customers on the line including power generating companies resumed.
The NNPC said the repair work on the pipeline followed the directive by its Group Managing Director, Mr. Maikanti Baru, to carry out an assessment of the damage with a view to getting a prompt solution.
The NNPC noted that with the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply, the affected power plants with a combined generating capacity of 1,143 megawatts (MW) would resume power generation.
The power plants, according to the NNPC include Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State; Olorunshogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunshogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun State; and Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State.
The NNPC noted that a section of the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State blew up in flames on January 2, 2018, as a result of bushfire.
The incident, it said, affected gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States with a subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.
The 36-inch Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), the NNPC noted is a natural gas pipeline built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption utilization areas and supplies gas to power plants in the South-west and also feeds the West African Gas Pipeline System.