FG debt, gas shortage cripple operations of 191MW Ibom Power plant

By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor

Ibom Power Company Limited (IPC), one of Nigeria’s first independent State-owned power plants, lost nearly a full year of electricity generation in 2025/2026 after a prolonged gas supply crisis crippled operations at its 191-megawatt power plant, highlighting the deepening liquidity challenges across the country’s power sector.

The company disclosed that it received natural gas for just about 30 days over the past 12 months, forcing repeated shutdowns and leaving the plant idle for almost 11 months.

It blamed the disruption on the failure to fully settle legacy debts owed to electricity generation companies, saying the unpaid obligations had left it unable to pay for gas supplies or finance routine maintenance.

Managing Director of Ibom Power, Engr Camillus Umoh, who spoke during a media clarification and interaction meeting with journalists in Uyo, said the Federal Government still owed the company about N15.7 billion out of a total N28 billion legacy debt accumulated since 2015.

According to him, the company’s liquidity position deteriorated to the point where its gas supplier, Acugas, has stopped extending credit and switched to a strict “pay-before-supply” arrangement.
The 191MW power plant, commissioned in 2010, relies on gas supplied from Acugas’ Uquo gas field in Akwa Ibom State through a 62-kilometre pipeline. Engr Umoh said gas deliveries had been declining steadily for almost two years before eventually ceasing in June, 2026.

“For the past 360 days, our aggregated gas availability has been less than 30 days. Even during those few days, supply was not at optimal levels, with some deliveries at only 30 to 40 per cent of plant requirement. That forced us to operate below capacity or shut down completely,” he said.

He added that the company’s gas supply finally stopped in June, 2026 after years of mounting unpaid invoices.

“Our gas supply ended in June. The supplier informed us that unless payments are made upfront, they will no longer supply gas. They do not want to accumulate another decade of unpaid debts,” he said.
Beyond the outstanding invoices, he explained that Accugas was also contending with technical challenges requiring fresh investments, making it impossible for the company to continue financing gas deliveries on credit.

Umoh said Ibom Power’s experience reflects the wider financial crisis confronting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), where electricity generation companies are collectively owed trillions of naira for power already delivered to the national grid.

He disclosed that GenCos were expected to meet with the Federal Government in Abuja to discuss/firm modalities for settling the outstanding legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025.

Although the government has acknowledged about N4 trillion in outstanding obligations across the sector, he said only about 48per cent of the debt had been accommodated to-date under the current repayment framework.

“For Ibom Power, the total debt is about N28 billion. We have received roughly N12.3 billion, leaving an outstanding balance of N15.7 billion, which will be part of the discussions with government next week” he said.

He also expressed reservations about the repayment structure, noting that only about half of the outstanding debt would be paid in cash while the balance would be issued as bonds.

“About 50 per cent will be paid in cash, while the remaining 50 per cent will be in bonds, which operators would have to redeem at a discount,” he said.

According to Umoh, settling debts accumulated over several years without accounting for inflation or financing costs has severely weakened the balance sheets of generation companies, leaving them unable to invest in maintenance, plant upgrades and expansion.

He further criticised the electricity market settlement system, saying generation companies currently receive only about 30 to 40 per cent of their monthly invoices, usually after waiting around 60 days, while there is no certainty on when the outstanding balance will be paid.

He said that the current payment regime is gradually creating another cycle of legacy debts similar to the one government is now attempting to resolve.

Despite the prolonged shutdown, Umoh said the plant remains capable of generating between 82MW and 83MW whenever gas is available—in excess of Akwa Ibom State’s current electricity demand, estimated at between 65MW and 75MW.

He recalled that Ibom Power was originally conceived as a regional power hub, with plans to expand installed generation capacity from 191MW to 685MW under the second phase of its development.
However, weak transmission infrastructure is another major impediment to maximising available generation.

According to him, Akwa Ibom should ordinarily evacuate power through the Aba-Itu and Calabar-Itu transmission corridors.

However, the 78-kilometre Aba-Itu transmission line, which is more than five decades old, can evacuate only about 70MW, while the Calabar-Itu line has remained out of service for over four years after being vandalised around the Itu/Adiagbor stretch.

“The aging Aba-Itu line frequently forces us to reduce generation because it cannot transmit more than 60-70MW, even when we have the capacity to generate more,” he said.

Umoh, however, noted that the plant’s island mode capability enables it to supply electricity directly within Akwa Ibom State whenever constraints on the national grid prevent power evacuation.

He said resolving Nigeria’s power supply challenges required a coordinated action to restore liquidity in the electricity market, guarantee reliable gas supplies, strengthen transmission infrastructure and enforce greater financial discipline across the value chain including massively increasing the meter installation scheme to ensure energy supplied and used is fully paid for by all consumers/customers