Experts in the financial and energy sector have disclosed that Nigeria will require 180,000 megawatts of electricity to join the Group of 20 top economies in the world.
The Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Limited, Mr. Bunmi Akinremi, explained that an industrial nation like Nigeria required 1,000MW per million inhabitants and that with the country’s growing population, there was the need to generate about 180,000MW, which is a far distance from the government’s target of 10,000MW by 2020.
He said Nigeria lagged behind other developing nations in terms of electricity consumption, which ought to be four to five times higher than it is today, as about 55 per cent of Nigerians have no access to electricity from the grid, while those connected to the grid face extensive power interruptions.
“Nigeria’s tariff is not truly cost-reflective as each variant of the Multi-Year Tariff Order has retained a subsidy component. The cost of not having electricity is much greater than the cost of putting the right machinery in place. An efficient supply system, where losses are at the barest minimum, and an inefficient system with significant losses will both bear the same cost in delivering electricity to the end user,” he said.
An electrical engineer, Mr. Caleb Oluwande, also explained that for tariff to be cost reflective in Nigeria, it needs to be 90 per cent higher than what is obtainable at the moment. As far as he is concerned, operators must align charges for electricity consumption with the cost of electricity consumption if they are determined to move the nation forward.
“A lot of Nigerians are fleeced because they use estimated bills. Most of them have paid for pre-paid meters but some electricity distribution companies failed to supply them because they allegedly make more money from estimated bills, compared to pre-paid meters. Also, there is a need for equity injection as the domestic financial system is overexposed to the sector,”
he said.
