Mohammed Shosanya
Accugas Limited, a subsidiary of Savannah Energy,has denied involvement in the current power outage in Akwa Ibom State.
Sacked former Managing Director of Ibom Power Company Limited, Engr. Meyen Etukudoh,had fingered Savannah Energy as reason behind the statewide blackout.
He explained that the blackout was triggered by Savannah Energy’s decision to cut off gas supply to the plant.
He claimed that Savannah Energy subsidiary’s actions sabotaged their efforts to provide electricity to the state.
In a statement on Saturday,Savannah Energy,attributed the power cut in Akwa Ibom State to the reported fault in the 132-KV Aba-Itu transmission line,which, it said,is preventing power being transmitted from the national grid into the state.
The statement quoted that it’s imperative that the restoration of the Aba-Itu line is completed as soon as possible.
It added:”Ibom Power Company (“IPC”) is one of 23 thermal power generation companies which channel power to the national grid, which in turn disseminates all accumulated power to each State of the Federation through the electricity distribution companies (“Discos”).
“Indeed,Accugas supplies gas to enable c. 20% of Nigeria’s thermal generation capacity and, as such, is a critical enabler of the Nigerian economy”.
The statement also quoted that within Akwa Ibom,Accugas has been the sole supplier of gas to IPC since 2014 and, together with other Savannah subsidiaries, has invested over US$1.5 billion in gas development within the state.
Besides,Savannah has recently invested c. US$45 million in a gas compression project at Accugas’ Uquo central processing facility at Esit Eket. Accugas’ commitments also extend to several social investment projects in the state.
It said:”All the foregoing investments and projects, including other imminent investments Accugas intends to make in the State, demonstrate the company’s long-term commitment to Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.
“Accugas will continue to partner with, and support, the government of Akwa Ibom State towards achieving the government’s agenda for economic development and prosperity of the state”.