Power shortages caused by Nigeria’s national power grid’s propensity for periodic failures impede investment and economic progress in the most populous country in Africa.
The unpredictable power supply in Nigeria, which results in nationwide power outages, costs the country’s economy an estimated $29 billion annually, according to World Bank estimates.
This is why the grid in Nigeria isn’t working.
The crisis stems from Nigeria’s deteriorating electrical infrastructure. Oftentimes, transmission lines and substations—some of which are over 40 years old—fail.
According to the government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), for every 100 megawatts added to the grid, transmission losses average 7.79 megawatts.
According to energy lawyer Ayodele Oni of Lagos, years of underinvestment have made the grid vulnerable to tripping when demand varies suddenly.
This is made worse by attacks and vandalism on transmission equipment, particularly in northern Nigeria. TCN reported 108 assaults on its towers and lines during the previous two years.
The fact that Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, only produces and distributes one-third of its 13,500 megawatt installed generation capacity is another significant reason.
Furthermore, South Africa, a nation with a third the population of Nigeria, generates more energy than Nigeria, which has the seventh-largest gas reserves in the world, but produces less than 10% of that total.
Over 75% of Nigeria’s electricity is produced by gas-fired power facilities, most of which are found in the country’s south. Hydroelectric power plants in the north provide the rest.
Electricity from power plants is channeled into the federally regulated national grid, which then distributes it to customers via 11 regional distribution corporations.
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Even after Nigeria privatized its electrical industry over ten years ago, the country’s grid has hardly changed.
The government did, however, permit its 36 states to produce and transfer their own electricity last year. Lagos, the country’s commercial center, and five other states have already started to establish their own power markets.
Moreover, the government is constructing 1,000 tiny solar networks in collaboration with the World Bank to provide access to electricity in rural areas.
“Decentralized energy sources, like solar power combined with storage, are needed in Nigeria to supplement the national grid in a more resilient manner,” stated Sherisse Alexander, chief business officer at independent power producer WATT Renewable Corporation.
