Can Nigerians afford uninterrupted electricity?

Etietop Demas Abraham
Nov 2 · 3 min read
Photo by taner ardalı on Unsplash

kWh is the units for measuring electricity consumption, most of us just say units.

A modern air conditioner consumes about 2,500 watts of power, that is 2.5 kilowatts. Leaving the air conditioner on for an hour will consume 2.5 units.

The cost of electricity in Nigeria is ₦25.31 per unit (kWh).

2.5 units is consumed when you run an air conditioner for an hour, that is about ₦63.

70% of Nigeria’s population live on less than ₦750 a day

Today this plate cost an average of ₦300

The other 20% are the middle class and the super-rich, compared to Poland where only 10% of the population live below ₦750 daily.

Let’s analyze the cost of running basic electronic devices

32" LED TVs consumes about 0.055 kilowatts. Running it for 12 hours daily is equivalent to 0.66 units. The Fridge consumes power only when the compressor or light is on, that’s about 0.607 units a day. A 5 watts LED bulb if left all day will consume 0.12 units. Phone chargers consume a maximum of 0.007 kilowatts, charging for 2 hours will get us to 0.014 units. Finally, rechargeable table fans consume 0.033 kilowatts, the battery can be fully charged in an average of 6 hours, that’s about 0.2 units. This brings us to a total of 1.6 units daily, that's about ₦40 daily.

Most Nigerians cook with gas cookers

The average price for the refilling a 5kg cylinder is about ₦2,200, that’s an average of ₦75 a day, assuming 5kg cooking gas caters to a household for an entire month. In comparison to the electric cooker, 2 hours of cooking daily will consume 4.6 units, that’s about ₦115 daily.

It’s safe to say 70% of Nigerians spend close to ₦500 on energy related purchases daily

Approximately 2 units daily on basic electronic devices, that is about ₦50 daily. Other major energy expenses are on cooking gas (75 a day) and transportation (It’s safe to say ₦300 on average).

I am convinced that caring a little more about how we consume power and being accountable is a very vital step towards sustainable development of the power sector, it really begins with you and me. Only then can we have effective conversations with other stakeholders: distribution, transmission and generation.

What’s next?

The role the distribution companies play today.

Are the distribution companies enabling accurate measurement of power consumed?

References

Geek Radius

Trying to solve big problems through a community of reason.

Etietop Demas Abraham

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I write about Nigeria’s economy and technologies that drive economic growth. I‘m all about love and reason!

Geek Radius

Trying to solve big problems through a community of reason.