Unless Nigeria accepts the plea of Ghana, the West African neighbour may suffer a major setback in its electricity supply, beginning from today Friday October 16, 2015. This is because Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has threatened to cut off the gas supply to Volta River Authority, VRA, that country’s main power generation company. Nigerian company, N-Gas, which deals directly with VRA had served notice on Wednesday that it would cut supply to the Ghananian company due to an outstanding debt of $181 million,.
Walter Perez, managing director of West African Pipelines Company, WAPCO is concerned that this step could cause a major upset in the economy of Ghana which has started to experience power shortage and increase in cost of doing business. Perez’s WAPCO too being owed by VRA, some $103 million.
But WAPCO panicked when N-Gas conveyed that decision to it that the NNPC had served notice that it would cut gave supply to it, thereby making it difficult for the gas company to meet the demand of VRA, except the debt is paid.
Apparently unable to pay immediately, the Ghananian government has dispatched a delegation to Nigeria to plead for time. Until this year the bulk of gas used to generate electricity in Ghana was supplied by Nigeria through WAPCO, which also supplies to Togo and Benin Republic. But starting from this year Ghana, also now an oil producing country has started to get supply from its own outfit, Ghana’s Jubilee Offshore oil and gas field.
The two government will have to handle the situation with caution to avoid a diplomatic crisis, since the matter touches the economy of Ghana
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