Electricity sector in Nigeria

The electricity sector in Nigeria generates, transmits and distributes megawatts of electric power that is significantly less than what is needed to meet basic household and industrial needs.[1] In 2012, the industry labored to distribute 5,000 megawatts, very much less than the 40,000 megawatts needed to sustain the basic needs of the population.[1] This deficit is also exacerbated by unannounced load shedding,[2][3] partial and total system collapse and power failure.[1] To meet demand, many households and businesses resort to purchasing generating sets to power their properties,[1] this source of energy provided 6,000 megawatts in 2008.[1]

History

Development of electric power industry

Electricity generation in Nigeria began in Lagos in 1886 with the use of generators to provide 60 kilowatts.[4] In 1923 tin miners installed a 2 MW plant on the Kwali River, six years later, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Company, a private firm was established near Jos to manage an hydro-electric plant at Kura to power the mining industry. Then another private enterprise was established in Sapele by United Africa Company to power the activities of African Timber and Plywood Company.[5] Between 1886 and 1945, electric power generation was rather low with power provided largely to Lagos and other commercial centres such as mining industries in Jos and Enugu.[5] The colonial government created an electricity department within the Public Works Department which then installed generating sets in many cities to serve government reservation areas and commercial centres.[1] In 1950, the Legislative Council of Nigeria began moves to integrate the electricity industry when it enacted a law to establish the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria with the duties of developing and supplying electricity.[4] ECN took over the electricity sector activities within PWD and the generating sets of Native Authorities. In 1951, the firm managed 46 megawatts of electricity.[5] Between 1952 and 1960, the firm established coal-powered turbines at Oji and Ijora, Lagos and began making preliminary plans for a transmission network to link the power generating sites with other commercial centres.[5] In 1961, ECN completed a 132 KV transmission line linking Lagos to Ibadan via Shagamu, in 1965, this line was extended to Oshogbo, Benin and Ughelli to form the Western System.[4]

In 1962, a statutory organization, the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was formed to build and maintain dams along River Niger and Kaduna River, NDA went on to commission a 320MW hydropower plant at Kainji in 1969 with the power generated sold to ECN. In 1972 NDA and ECN merged to form the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). NEPA was the major electricity firm in Nigeria until power sector reforms resulted in the creation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and later privatization of electricity generation and distribution.[4]

Generation

Electricity in Nigeria is generated through thermal and hydro power sources. The main source of electricity generation comes from fossil fuels especially gas which accounts for 86% of the capacity in Nigeria with the remainder generated from hydropower sources.[6] Before the beginning of the Fourth Nigerian republic, power generation was mainly the responsibility of the federal government through NEPA. But reforms started in 2005 with the signing of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act opened up the industry to private investors.[6] In 2014, the sector was privatized with three groups having the responsibility of providing power.

Month/Yr	Available capacity(MW)	Average daily generation
January 2018	7,457	3,744[7]
February 2018	7,515	4,005
March 2018	7,475	4,079
April 2018	7,250	3,999
May 2018	8,034	3,827

Generating companies (Gencos)

Nigeria has 23 power generating plants connected to the national grid with the capacity to generate 11,165.4 MW of electricity.[8] These plants are managed by generating companies (Gencos), independent power providers and Niger Delta Holding Company (NIPP). The primary independent power plants before the power sector reforms are Shell owned Afam VI (642MW), Agip built Okpai plant (480MW) and AES (270MW). The third sector is the NIPP, a project that was initiated in 2004 to fast track the development of new power plants in the country. Majority of the new proposed plants are gas-powered plants. In 2014, the proposed capacity of NIPP plants was 5,455MW.

Company	Type	Capacity
Kainji Jebba Power Plc	Hydro	1,330MW[9]
Ughelli Power Plc	Gas	942MW[8]
Sapele Power Plc	Gas	1,020[8]
Shiroro Power Plc	Hydro	600MW[8]
Afam Power Plc	gas	987.2MW[8]
Niger Delta Power Holding Company	gas	5,455[8]
IPP's	gas	1,392[8]
Egbin Power Plc		1,020MW[8]

Power supply deficit

Current electricity generated in Nigeria is inadequate to meet the demand needs of households and business; as a result, Nigeria has a low per capital consumption of electricity, 109 Kwh in 2006.[10] Besides, to this deficit, between 1970 and 2009, available power plants operated below optimal levels and electricity generated were lost in transmission. While electricity capacity was 5600 MW in 2001, the power generated fell as low as 1750 MW. The hydro-powered plants in Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba, tend to have higher capacity utilization rates while the gas-powered plant was affected by infrastructural and maintenance issues.[10] Between 1980 and 1996, the country Nigeria witnessed a significant gap in electricity generated and electricity billed which indicates electricity loss in transmission. Since the coming of democracy in 1999, the loss ratio had reduced from 46.9% in 1996 to 9.4% in 2008. Vandalism of equipment, lack of proper maintenance of transformers, poor management and corruption are a few of the reasons Nigeria's has produced sub-optimal electricity.[10]

Distribution

Nigeria has eleven distribution companies.

Distribution company	Districts
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company	Kaduna including the districts of Makera, Doka, Birnin Kebbi, Gusau, Sokoto and Zaria
Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Yola, Maiduguri, Taraba and Damaturu districts
Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Aba, Abakaliki, Abakpa, Awka, Ogui, Onitsha, Owerri, Nnewi, and Umuahia
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Abuja, Minna, Suleja, Lokoja and Lafia Districts
Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Abeokuta, Dugbe, Molete, Ijebu-Ode, Osogbo, Ilorin, Sango-Ota and Oyo
Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Jos, Makurdi, Bauchi and Gombe districts
Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Festac, Ijora, Lagos Island, Ajah, and Badagry
Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Ikeja, Shomolu, Akowonjo, Ikorodu, Oshodi and Abule-Egba
Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Calabar, Diobu, Ikom/Ogoja, Borikiri, Uyo and Yenegoa
Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Ado-Ekiti, Afenonesan, Akure, Asaba, Akpakpava, 'Ugbowo and Warri
Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc	Nassarawa, Dala, Katsina, Dutse, Kumbotso, Funtua and Dakata districts

References

1. Adedeji, Adesina Akanji (2016-03-11). Spatial exploration and analysis of electricity poverty: a case study of Ibadan, Southwestern, Nigeria (Thesis thesis). Department of Geography.
2. Oguguo, I. "'When They Bring Light' Policy". thecable.ng. The Cable. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
3. Oguguo, I. "Nigeria's Electricity Providers And COVID Uncertainties". Issuu.com. THISDAY. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
4. "The Genesis of Power Generation in Nigeria". The Nigerian Economist. 1: 40. October 1987.
5. Simpson, E. S. (July 1969). "Electricity Production in Nigeria". Economic Geography. 45 (3): 239–257. doi:10.2307/143093. ISSN 0013-0095. JSTOR 143093.
6. Oyewo, Ayobami; Aghahosseini, Arman; Bogdanov, Dmitirii; Breyer, Christian (2018-12-15). "Pathways to a fully sustainable electricity supply for Nigeria in the mid-term future". Energy Conversion and Management. 178: 44–64. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2018.10.036. ISSN 0196-8904.
7. "NERC Quarterly Reports". www.nercng.org. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
8. "A Guide to the Nigerian Power Sector" (PDF). KPMG. September 2016.
9. "Generation". www.nercng.org. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
10. Oseni (2011-12-01). "An analysis of the power sector performance in Nigeria". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 15 (9): 4765–4774. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.075. ISSN 1364-0321.