Solar: Affordable Power in Nigeria and Africa- The History of power generation in Nigeria-Part 1
· Electricity was first produced in Lagos in 1898 (15yrs after power was introduced in the United Kingdom) and had a capacity of 60KW which is the equivalent of a 75kVA generator
· This led to the establishment of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Company with the responsibility to setup similar plants across Nigeria.
· Power plants were set up in Port Harcourt (1928), Kaduna (1929), Enugu (1933), Maiduguri (1934), Yola (1937), Zaria (1938), Warri (1938) and Calabar (1939)
· The Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was set up in 1950 as a central body to oversee electricity supply throughout the country
· 1962. The Niger Dams Authority (NDA) is setup to harness hydropower in Nigeria. The construction of Kainji Dam commenced shortly after
· 1990s. Electricity supply declines due to the inability of the Nigerian power sector to keep up with economic evolution and technological innovation in the power industry
· 2001. The Obasanjo administration created the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP) which began the splitting of NEPA into 18 successor companies: 6 Generating companies (GenCos), 1 transmission company (TCN) and 11 distribution companies (DisCos)
· 2005. Asset of these companies were transferred to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)
· 2005. Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) is introduced to tackle issues relating to tariff introduction and policy formulation. Under this act the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was formed
· 2013. The Goodluck Jonathan administration, sold off the PHCN successor companies to private investors. FGN still retains 20% equity in GenCos, 40% equity in DisCos, and 100% equity in TCN
This privatization exercise transformed energy supply in Nigeria from a social service to a business venture.
Despite a somewhat successful privatization exercise, power supply is still inadequate.
KEY FACTS
(Adapted from Empower Nigeria ELECTRICITY FACTS EVERY NIGERIAN SHOULD KNOW Part 1 & 2)
1. Nigeria has an installed electricity generating capacity of 12,522 MW, but power sent out as at the end of 2018 was 4,103 MW
2. The cost of generating and moving electricity from generation to the end users through the national grid is approximately N65/kWh, while electricity consumers pay an average of N 25kWh
3. The Average Nigerian spends N110-N220/kWh of electric power generated using private diesel or petrol generators
4. Over $16 bn is spent annually to power private diesel and petrol generators in Nigeria
5. Only 12 out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory supply the entire volume of grid electricity used in Nigeria, and majority of these are in the South
6. 87% of Nigeria’s grid electricity supply is generated by gas red plants, while the remaining 13% is produced from hydro powered turbines
7. The Transmission Company of Nigeria’s wheeling capacity has increased from 5,000MW (2016) to 7,124 MW (2017) and 8,100MW (2018)
8. Over 60% of companies in Nigeria significantly rely on generators
9. Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is 126 kWh, compared to Ghana’s and South Africa at is 361 kWh 3,926 kWh respectively.
Next Up is the True Cost of Power
Thank you for reading,
Nero
