OILFIELDS across Nigeria’s resource-abundant Niger Delta spew high flames that blur the difference between day and night in the so-called host communities, like Ebedei in Delta State. The oil industry still burns off some 700 million standard cubic feet of associated gas that comes with oil during production daily at over 170 sites.

Including non-associated gas, the other natural gas that exists in reserves independent of oil, Nigeria’s proven reserves of natural gas are up to 202 trillion cubic feet, TCF, and about 600 trillion TCF unproven reserves, bringing Africa’s largest economy among the first ten largest gas producers in the world.

The vast gas resource – added to the limitless renewable resources, namely hydro, wind and solar – thrusts to spotlight the generous presence of inherent attributes necessary for optimal electricity delivery, which can unlock economic prosperity and development.

“The electricity platform is central to the rest of the economy since it overlaps with almost all other systems,” commented Emmanuel Ezekwere, a sector expert with decades-long experience gained from senior roles at NEPA, PHCN, and NERC.

“Basically shameful”
But in today’s reality, between the country’s energy potential and development, at least, of a sort accomplished in equally Global South countries like India and Brazil, there lies a barrier: electricity constraints resulting from policy and financial mismanagement, ever-present “tariffschizophrenia,” low investment, neglect, infrastructure deficit, and customers disloyalty.

After several billions of dollars “investment” and dawns of dashed hopes, including the Obasanjo administration’s 10 thousand megawatts, MW, capacity by 2007 and the Jonathan’s 24,961 MW by 2019, Nigeria, in now mostly privatised electricity industry, is only able to deliver less than four thousand MW to 202 million people, about one third of what Singapore supplies 5.6 million people.

Consequently, while per capita electricity consumption in Nigeria is 145 kWh, it is 8,845 kWh in the tiny Asian city-state, acclaimed for accomplishing one of history’s greatest transformational tasks. Continental rival, South Africa, with about 57 million people, just little over a quarter of Nigeria’s population, has installed generation capacity of 48,479 MW (compared to Nigeria’s 12,910 MW) and per capita consumption of 4,198 kWh.

“After first generating electricity in 1898, we should now be talking about 40,000, 60,000, 100,000 megawatts available generation capacity,” said Sam Amadi, who headed the industry regulator, NERC, between 2010 and 2015. The first electricity generation mentioned by Mr. Amadi was 60 KW installation mainly for colonial officials in Marina, Lagos, in 1898, just 17 years after the world’s first public electricity supply in Goldaming, England.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/let-there-be-light-nigerias-dawns-of-dashed-hopes-on-electricity/

This light matter tire person

When God Commanded Let There Be Light, Nigeria As A Nation Was Not Among

I blame the north....

With the abundance of gas and coal the south east should be powering the whole nation.

Even common sense would dictate that refineries should have been built in the south east to refine the crude coming from that region.