Nigeria: The Country's Electricity Dilemma

AllAfrica.com
OPINION
21 August 2007

Uduma Okeh
Lagos

Much has been said and written over the years by renowned energy professionals, experts and analysts about the degenerated energy supply in Nigeria, with prescriptions of strategies for improving and stabilising the industry. Past governments also implemented diverse policy programmes in the energy sector based on their respective measures of understanding of the role of energy as an essential input for the socio-economic empowerment of the citizens.

The recurrent devastating economic and environmental impact of power black-outs, both planned and un-planned, underlines a need for urgent implementation of the long-term least cost generation expansion framework and proper maintenance of transmission and distribution networks to ensure enhanced energy supply and reliability in Nigeria.

The country is plagued with perennial energy crisis deriving from declining electricity generation from the national power hegemony called the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria Plc (PHCN). This reflects the poor maintenance culture inherent in the country right from Independence and the inefficiency and corruption of the public utility provider. With or without privatisation, the PHCN clearly cannot meet Nigeria's surging energy demands. PHCN cannot give out what it does not have.

Right from inception, Nigeria's electricity policy has been urban-centric. Rural areas, where the greater percentage of the country's population is found, are always relegated to the background and excluded in our desultory electrification policy. Every country's economic and social growth depends on the substratum of its political leadership. The World Conventional Energy Supply, 2004, showed Africa's highest supply in descending order of magnitude as follows: South Africa has 30,020MW capacity; Egypt has 14,250MW capacity; Algeria has 6,188MW capacity; Libya has 4,710 MW capacity; Nigeria has 3,960MW capacity and Morocco has 3,592MW capacity etc.

So, South Africa's total energy supply is 10 times more than Nigeria's own. The 44.3 million members of South Africa's population have electricity 10 times more than over 140 million Nigerians. Egypt, which is second with 14,250MW capacity is 3.59 or, approximately 4 times higher than Nigeria's conventional energy output. Egypt with a population of 77.5 million people uses electricity 4 times more than over 140 million Nigeria's population.

The total global electric power supply is 3,400,000MW capacity and developing countries with 80% of world's population have 1,500,000MW capacity. Advanced countries with 20% of world's population paradoxically have electricity 3 times more than the developing countries' 80% population. Out of 1,500,000MW capacity shared amongst the developing countries, Nigeria, with the largest population in Africa, coupled with its enormous natural resources, does not have even up to 5,000MW capacity.

It is essential that the Federal Government takes a long-term view to energy production and think about the next 50 to 100-year time horizon, rather than the next political dispensation and which political party produces the President. Only long-term approach to energy supply and integration of RE resources backed with firm political leadership will rid Nigeria of its age-long electricity dilemma.

It is believed that government has an obligation to the Nigerian citizens for the provision of products and services that private market seems reluctant to provide at a competitive price but which are required to ensure the polity's health welfare, safety, long-term economic stability and environmental conservation, RE technologies competently meet these criteria.

Government needs to remember that it is the citizens who bear the costs for the externalities associated with fossil fuel use in many ways, including healthcare and environment. It is appropriate for government to recognise and swiftly act upon the external social costs of its energy choices. At the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, the G8 recognised that one important option to improve global energy security and mitigate global warming, is to increase electricity production from RE. Renewable energy or Variable Output Technologies (VOTs) are all of particular relevance to this required approach, which aims to provide decentralisation policy recommendations.

Government should have balanced energy reform by focusing on the development and promotion of RE through R&D programmes and awareness creation. What is required is an energy reform that embraces informed energy diversification framework policy aimed at boosting the deployment of RE to supplement energy supply from the conventional resources in Nigeria.

There is need for this administration to appreciate and apply variable output technologies in pursuance of environmental sustainability agenda in conformity with the obligations of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which Nigeria accepted as a Party to the Kyoto Protocol.
Government should evolve the introduction of realistic regulatory mechanisms to encourage private sectors and rural communities participation in RE development through small power purchase tariffs aimed at supporting small power producers schemes.

There should also be support for the development of micro-hydro power plants, wind power, autonomous and hybrid solar systems in the rural areas to empower the rural dwellers economically. This regime is required to provide subsidies to build RE market volume on the premise that costs will decline as volume increases due to the economies of scale and learning.

In Nigeria, our government appears unwilling to have a balanced energy reform which would allow for the adoption of portfolio standard for RE to supply electricity and water and promote agriculture in the rural areas. In the United States of America (USA), RE forms 11.5% of its total electricity generation capacity. RE also accounts for 32% of India's total electricity supply. In China and Japan they represent 21% and 20% of total electricity capacity respectively. These are the only clear solutions to Nigeria's electricity dilemma.

- Okeh, Executive Director of Green Earth Preservation Charter (GEPC), wrote in from Lagos