Nigeria is losing $ 25 billion (N7.5 trillion at the current exchange rate of N305 per dollar) yearly due to irregular electricity supply, Damola Omole, Head of Energy Strategy at Dangote Industries, has said.
Speaking at a panel session at the West Africa power and renewable energy trade exhibition called Power Nigeria in Lagos on Wednesday, Omole said one of the major challenges facing the sector was the problem of misaligned interest. “There is no alignment; you can’t trace the huge investment going on in the sector.”
“Nigeria loses over $ 25 billion, just by not being able to meet the energy demand of the manufacturing sector,” Omole said at the event.
He said the loss was noteworthy and a major challenge to Nigeria’s economy, as the loss formed a huge chunk of the country’s exported capital which could have add value to the local economy.
“Nigeria is a very low-productivity economy consuming just 1.4Kwh per capital on annual bases. That is less than what Ghana, who is not a significantly manufacturing country, consumes,” Omole said.
He noted that Nigeria had not really made any significant progress in the sector despite huge investments from the Federal government.
Also at the event, Deep Karani, Exhibition Director for Power Nigeria, said Nigeria was facing a rapidly increasing population which clearly results in much higher demand for energy needs although infrastructural investments, regulatory and policy limitations were a major challenge hampering the growth of the power sector.
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“While there are off-grid sustainable solutions available, Nigeria also needs good governance, proper regulations, and policies that need to be set and enforced for the sector to experience growth,” Karani said at the event in Lagos.
Karani noted that both grid extension and off-grid solutions would be needed to provide quality services to the unserved and underserved households and businesses in a timely manner.
“My personal prediction is that renewables will play a very important role in Nigeria’s power generation model. It is only a matter of time before we see more clarity in policy and regulations. However, given the size of the market, Nigeria will continue to be a strong energy market in the next 10 years,” Karani said.
Other stakeholders at the panel said the current revenue shortfall would adversely impact the ability of the Discos to make capital investments in metering, network expansion, equipment rehabilitation and replacement that are critical to service delivery.
Over the years, while many nations in the world have been able to adequately fix their electricity supply, Nigeria has been an exception. In spite of her rich human and natural resources, the country has struggled to maintain a stable and efficient power sector.
Despite an array of technocrats, Nigeria is still unable to produce sufficient megawatts for more than half of its increasing population.
For example, some other African countries including Ghana, have celebrated no less than three years of uninterrupted power supply. South Africa, with a population of about 60 million, produces 51,309MW, while Nigeria, with a population of about 190 million, produces just 4,000MW.
