By Prevail Inegbenose
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has raised alarm over the ongoing dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery, which has led to directives to suspend crude oil and natural gas supply to the facility.
In a statement on Sunday 28th September, NISO warned that this disruption could have severe impact on the nation’s power sector, as the national grid heavily relies on gas-fired generation.
NISO stressed that any sustained disruption in gas supply would likely constrain generation capacity, affect system operations, and undermine the stability and reliability of electricity supply across the country.
While NISO is exploring measures to prevent a total grid collapse, it urged all parties involved to engage in dialogue and utilize lawful dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve the issue.
Saddled with the duty to manage the country’s national electricity grid and market operations, NISO reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring a secure and reliable operation of the national grid and will continue to support wider efforts aimed at safeguarding energy security.
Spark News Naija reports that the dispute between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery centers around the refinery’s decision to sack over 800 workers, which PENGASSAN describes as “unlawful dismissal.”
The union has instructed its members to halt crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery, potentially disrupting the availability of petroleum products such as petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, and cooking gas.