Gas Supply Disruption Shuts Geometric Power Plant, Plunges Aba into Darkness

Aba residents across the Ring-fence Area, encompassing nine of Abia State's 17 local government areas, were plunged into darkness Friday evening. This followed an abrupt disruption in natural gas supply to the 188-megawatt Geometric Power Plant, located at the Osisioma Industrial Layout. The outage, which commenced around 6:30 p.m., halted electricity generation, cutting power supply to customers served by Aba Power, the distribution arm of the Geometric Power Group.

Ugo Opiegbe, the Managing Director of Aba Power, confirmed the development in a statement on Saturday and apologized to customers for the blackout. He attributed the issue to technical problems affecting the company's gas supplier, resulting in a significant drop in gas pressure. This pressure reduction made it impossible to operate the plant's turbines, each with a 47MW capacity.

While the gas supplier was not officially identified, industry sources indicated that Heirs Energies has been supplying gas to the Geometric Power Plant for the past three years. However, a senior official from Nigeria Gas Marketing Limited (NGML), speaking anonymously, stated that sufficient gas volumes are available. The primary challenge, according to the official, is the inability to swap gas supplies due to constraints affecting Heirs Energies’ Associated Gas Gathering (AGG) infrastructure.

Industry analysts have linked the problem to long-standing infrastructure challenges inherited by Heirs Energies after acquiring operatorship of Oil Mining Lease 17 (OML 17). Mechanical engineer and energy consultant Dike Ejike noted that while Heirs Energies has made operational improvements, it continues to struggle with aging facilities. He explained that uncertainty surrounding a legal dispute over license renewal discouraged investment in critical infrastructure before the asset changed hands.

Opiegbe stated that it remains unclear when normal gas pressure will be restored, warning that electricity supply might not resume within the next 24 hours. The development has raised concerns among businesses and residents in the Aba Ring-fence Area, an area previously noted for more reliable electricity supply.

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Gas pressure has significantly dropped in the last 24 hours. The pressure, arising from our partner’s facilities, is not strong enough to power our turbines, each of which has a 47MW capacity.