Cape Verde has the highest electricity fluctuations, averaging 6056.4 kWh

  • The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Guinea had the most stable electricity supply from 2000 to 2021.
  • Cape Verde experienced the highest electricity fluctuations, with values ranging from 2981.5 kWh/person to 7692.9 kWh/person.
  • Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Mali, and Cape Verde had the most unstable electricity supply, with significant year-to-year variations.
  • Nigeria’s electricity supply averaged 2161.7 kWh/person but remained highly inconsistent, fluctuating between 1250.4 and 2707.9 kWh/person.
  • Mali had the lowest electricity availability among unstable nations, averaging 757.4 kWh/person, with a drop as low as 350.7 kWh/person.
  • Countries with stable electricity had lower fluctuations, with The Gambia leading at 957.8 kWh/person and Guinea reaching 1110.8 kWh/person.

Between 2000 and 2021, electricity supply in West Africa varied significantly across countries. Cape Verde experienced the most instability, with fluctuations between 2981.5 and 7692.9 kWh/person, while Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, and Mali also showed inconsistent supply. In contrast, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Guinea maintained more stable electricity, with minimal fluctuations in availability.

Source:

Our World in Data

Period:

2000-2021
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Nigeria has achieved a metering rate of 47%, with Ikeja DisCo leading the way at an impressive 78% progress
  • Ikeja DisCo leads with a 78.45% metering rate, having metered over 1.03 million customers.
  • Abuja DisCo follows closely with a 71.60% metering rate and over 924,000 metered customers.
  • Ibadan has the highest number of registered customers, but only a 44.23% metering rate.
  • Kaduna and Kano have alarmingly low metering rates of 24.92% and 24.77%, respectively.
  • Yola DisCo has the lowest metering rate at just 14.45% of its 824,700 customers.
  • Eko DisCo has a relatively high metering rate of 63.92% despite having fewer registered customers.
  • Only 4 out of 13 DisCos have metered at least half of their customer base as of March 2025.

While Kano soared with 331% growth in Q1 2025, Ibadan's deployments hit 42,685, marking a superior numerical increase of 5,596
  • Kano DisCo recorded the highest increase in metered customers with a 330.75% rise in just one quarter.
  • Aba DisCo more than doubled its metered customers, increasing by 116.87%.
  • Ikeja DisCo, despite being a top performer overall, saw a 23.62% drop in meter installations.
  • Enugu and Eko also recorded declines in quarterly deployments by 12.31% and 4.02% respectively.
  • Ibadan DisCo deployed the highest number of meters in Q1 2025 but grew at a moderate rate of 15.09%.
  • Yola DisCo experienced the steepest decline in the country, dropping by 56.70% in metered customers.

Nigeria's national grid has collapsed 12 times in 2024
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.

71% of households in Nigeria’s North East lack access to electricity
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 experienced a collapse or disturbance every 31 days on average in 2024
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.    

Over 54% of Nigeria's electricity consumers still remain unmetered
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.

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