Nigeria's national grid has experienced 12 collapses so far in 2024, a troubling trend that reveals the fragility of the country's energy infrastructure. The timeline highlights intervals ranging from as short as one day to as long as 82 days between incidents. Notably, two consecutive collapses occurred on October 14 and October 15, while a total of 9 collapses occurred in the second half of the year.
Yesterday's collapse came 35 days after November 7, when the grid went down for the 11th time.
Nearly half (46%) of Nigerian households struggle with electricity access, with the Northern region facing the most significant challenges. The three Northern geopolitical zones have access rates below the national average, whereas South East Nigeria has the highest access, with only 25.4% of households lacking electricity.
Nigeria’s national grid has experienced a record ten collapses/disturbances impacting power supply nationwide. From February to November, frequent disruptions have pointed out the grid’s vulnerability and the need for sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s energy crisis. These grid issues reoccur every 31 days on average, affecting households, businesses, and industries.
Nigeria has made strides in metering electricity customers, but progress is slow, with nearly 7.1 million unmetered customers as of June 2024.
Despite customer numbers doubling from 6.5m to 13m (June 2015-2024) and a 95.4% rise in metered customers, the percentage of unmetered customers increased to 54.4%.
Metering must outpace customer growth to end estimated billing.
Over the years, Nigeria has seen significant increases in electricity revenue.
Revenue surged from ₦129 billion in 2015 to ₦683 billion in H1 2024, while the number of customers has doubled from 6.5 million to 13 million.
This 428% increase in revenue highlights rising consumption and tariff hikes.
Nigeria produced approximately 182 kWh of electricity per person in 2023, just enough to run only a 100-watt light bulb for five hours daily.
Nigeria's per capita electricity production has fluctuated in the past two decades. In this time, production has remained within the range of 120 kWh to 194 kWh.
Here is a visual representation of the country's per capita electricity production since 2000.
South Africa and Egypt generated 239 terawatt-hours (TWh) and 201 TWh of electricity, respectively, in 2022, accounting for a combined 50% of Africa's 881 TWh. These countries, along with Algeria, Morocco, and Nigeria, accounted for 68% of the continent's total.
Despite being one of Africa's largest economies and having the continent's largest population, Nigeria's electricity generation has historically been lower than its potential.
About 28,844 TWh of electricity was generated globally in 2022. Driven by industrial growth and large populations in countries like China and India, Asian countries collectively accounted for 56%. North America and Europe followed, with 5,432 TWh and 4,731 TWh, respectively.
Africa generated less than 900 TWh, with key contributions from South Africa and Egypt. Oceania, primarily led by Australia, produced 330 TWh.
