Electricity in Nigeria – the state of the Nation and potential solutions

An overview of the electricity situation in Nigeria and insight into renewable energy solutions, including some statistics on renewable technologies’ generation and power capacity.

Access to electricity has become integral to modern life and essential for the economy of nations, certainly not an optional luxury. Electricity is needed for lighting, heating, cooling/refrigeration, and running appliances such as computers, electronics, machinery, and public transportation systems. Electricity plays a crucial role in every nation’s socio-economic and technological development.

It seems unimaginable that despite abundant natural energy resources such as fossil fuel, sunshine, and natural gas, Nigeria has never had 24 hours of power in any time of its history.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said that the number of Nigerians without access to grid electricity has risen by 5.8 per cent to 90 million at the end of 2021 (The Guardian on 07 July 2022). The electricity demand significantly exceeds the supply. Attempts to fix the situation led to the privatisation of the power sector in 2013. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was unbundled, leading to the selling of the distribution and generation assets to core investors. Regulation by the Nigerian government is through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Stakeholders include the DISCOs (distribution companies), the GENCOs (generation companies), and the TCN (transmission companies). However, recently, as reported in the Punch newspaper on 14th March 2022, there have been disagreements and blame trading between some stakeholders, which is unhelpful in tackling the massive problem of erratic supply. The former Power Minister Barth Nnaji, who has been close to what’s going on in the sector, recently shared his thoughts on the Nigeria electricity crisis; he gave three reasons for the perennial shortage or intermittent electricity supply. Nnaji was quoted in the Vanguard Newspaper on March 20, 2022, saying that the three planks of the multi-faceted problem are: Lack of gas supply for existing plants, dilapidated or inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure as well as ‘man-made’ disruptions along the power supply value chain.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Indeed, where there is the will and determination, the problem of erratic supply in the nation is not insurmountable. Other industrialised countries have faced difficulties and have come out with functional energy sectors serving the need of the nations and still working to improve. In response to the war in Ukraine and the resultant energy insecurity situation, some countries are now developing new policies aimed at Energy Security Strategy. For example, the UK seeks to step up renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power and invest in more nuclear energy supplies.

Meeting the requirements of the billions of people who still lack access to an essential electricity supply while also taking part in the global shift to clean, low-carbon energy systems is a dual-energy challenge for developing and emerging economies in the twenty-first century. The bedrock of modern society is an electricity system that is economically competitive, reliable and environmentally friendly.

What Are Some Potential Tech Solutions

There are various technological solutions, and we will discuss some of these here, all renewable, harnessing naturally existing energy flux, such as wind, sun, heat, or tides, and converting that flux to electricity. Many kinds of literature, books, articles etc., have been written to describe these techs; we won’t dwell on details. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, tidal and geothermal. Of the various source of energy, those favoured for large-scale/mass populations are solar, hydropower and wind energy. Below are some stats on generation and power capacity (IRENA Renewable Capacity Statistics 2022).

Renewable generation capacity by energy source

At the end of 2021, global renewable generation capacity amounted to 3 064 GW. Hydropower accounted for the largest share of the worldwide total, with a capacity of 1 230 GW.* Solar and wind energy accounted for equal shares of the remainder, with capacities of 849 GW and 825 GW, respectively. Other renewables included 143 GW of bioenergy and 16 GW of geothermal, plus 524 MW of marine energy.

Renewable power capacity growth

Renewable generation capacity increased by 257 GW (+9.1%) in 2021. Solar energy continued to lead the capacity expansion, with an increase of 133 GW (+19%), followed by wind energy with 93 GW (+13%). Hydropower capacity increased by 19 GW (+2%) and bioenergy by 10 GW (+8%). Geothermal energy increased by 1.6 GW.

Solar and wind energy continued to dominate renewable capacity expansion, jointly accounting for 88% of all net renewable additions in 2021. Along with the higher growth of geothermal, this growth in wind and solar led to a high annual increase in renewable generating capacity.

Final words.

Nigeria must embark on a massive drive to improve access to electricity if she is to realise her economic goals. It is acknowledged that the nation is already tapping into the alternative energy sources discussed in the post; however, further private sector participation should be encouraged to boost the renewable sector, specifically focusing on solar, wind and hydro. Whilst all the tech solutions are great, Nigeria has particular problems that must be tackled as part of a holistic solution to the power problem.

• Charity, they say, begins at home; before massively embarking on the drive to export gas to other nations, Nigeria needs to promote self-sufficiency in the local gas supply for existing power plants.
• Rehabilitate dilapidated transmission and distribution infrastructure and invest in new facilities
• Tackle corruption in the sector and take on the vested interests who sabotage efforts and disrupt the power supply value chain. Some of these include portable power generator sellers.
• Nigeria also need to address vandalism, some of which is driven by economic hardship, with unscrupulous metals merchants.
• Create enabling legislation for private participation in renewable power generation such that any surplus can be exported to the national grid based on a buy-back arrangement with utility suppliers.

_____________________________________________________________

Copyright © Akingate. All Rights Reserved.

See our copyright notice.

Image Credit: Alternative energy vector created by macrovector – www.freepik.com