This was discussed during the ministerial summit on Integrated National Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan while scrutinizing the primary challenges to Nigeria's electricity reliability through the lenses of governance, adherence to rules/contracts, and finance.
The power generation and supply in Nigeria, emanating from its national grid, fluctuate between 3,500MW and 4,500MW for an estimated population of 200 million people.
In his summit address, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, emphasized that one of the primary objectives of the Nigerian electricity sector reform program initiated over 23 years ago was to provide electricity efficiently and consistently to consumers nationwide.
However, this goal remains unmet. According to the minister, Nigeria continues to expend hundreds of billions of naira to generate electricity through diesel- and petrol-powered generators. He noted that electricity consumption per capita in Nigeria stood at 140 kilowatt-hour in 2021, a figure significantly lower compared to neighboring countries and nearly three times below the Sub-Saharan Africa average.
Adelabu said, “Nigeria is a case study in a deep electricity paradox. Nigeria has grown to become the host of probably the world’s largest fleet of diesel- and petrol-powered generation capacity that is utilised for baseload supply.
“Various figures have been mentioned but it is safe to say that this fleet measures no less that 40,000MW of total capacity.
“At an average operating cost of no less than N250/kWh as opposed to an average economic tariff today of approximately N120/kWh (weighted between petrol and diesel generation), the daily cost of this extreme inefficiency in electricity supply in Nigeria, is measurable in tens of billions of naira daily.”
He added that this “is hard-earned money that would better be deployed to savings, discretionary consumer spending and tax revenue for governments instead of being literally burnt and going up in diesel and petrol emissions that harm our environment and contribute to incessant noise pollution in many of Nigeria’s cities.
