₦airaland Forum

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has alerted that more than 60 percent of manufacturing companies in Nigeria have been forced to exit the national grid due to unreliable power supply, and have resulted in self-generation of power which have driven production costs and made Nigerian goods uncompetitive.

Adelabu disclosed during the release of a National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and the public presentation of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) was also made public, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF).

He said that the launching of the new policy will help to drive the transformation of Nigeria’s power industry and ensure the return of the manufacturing firms which had exited the national grid. According to him, the new policy document had been submitted for the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The minister emphasized that bringing back the manufacturing companies that left the national grid on board is the only way the government can drive the expected economic growth and national development.

He stated: “Today, more than 60 percent of our manufacturing industry is completely off-grid. They engage in self-generation, not because they are in rural areas or they are in semi-urban areas, they are in locations where there is access to electricity.

“But how reliable is this access? We all know that there are a lot of sensitive manufacturing processes that cannot tolerate a one-minute dip in the electricity supply. Instead of taking such a risk by connecting to a grid that is not reliable, these industries would rather go for self-generation which is very expensive.

“Therefore, our products or commodities being turned out from these factories can never be competitive. The only way we can allow this to contribute to economic growth, industrialization, and national development is to ensure that there is reliability in grid supply, so that all these companies that are currently off-grid can go back to the grid, and this will reduce their cost of production, it will reduce inflation, and our locally manufactured goods can now compete with imported goods.”

Adelabu estimated that an investment of $32.8 billion is needed in the power sector between now and 2030 to enable the country to achieve universal electricity access, adding that out of the amount, $17 billion is expected from the public sector while about $15.8 billion will be contributed by the private sector.

Nigeria’s inability to supply and distribute sufficient electricity has left many businesses at the mercy of generators powered by diesel and petrol, whose prices have surged in recent months. This has added to the production costs for manufacturers significantly and rendered their products uncompetitive against imported products.

Recall that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had raised the alarm that manufacturers in the country spend about 40 percent of their total production costs on generating energy for their businesses.

MAN put the annual economic loss caused by the inadequate power supply at N10 trillion, accounting for almost two percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

President of MAN, Francis Meshioye, noted that manufacturers were hit hard last year with “a drastic rise in electricity tariffs, with rates increasing by over 250 percent”.

According to him, the surge in energy costs “became one of the highest operating expenses for businesses in the sector in 2024”.

He lamented that this has forced many manufacturers to seek alternative energy sources, further straining their financial resources and complicating their ability to remain competitive.

helinues:
You no even get shame to talk about unstable electricity as the minister of power

Shame oo

helinues:
You no even get shame to talk about unstable electricity as the minister of power

Shame oo

fuckingAyaya:
Our prayers are beginning to have effect on you, glory be to God.

Racoon:
Guess you have been bragging of improved power supply Mr Minister? So you now agree you failed too?

mrvitalis:
Any manufacturer using nation grid is a front for money laundering business.. Why because off grid is way cheaper than national grid

And funny thing is the more electricity one generate the lower the cost... Electricity have never been a big problem in the manufacturing industry

For me it's not even in top 10

Number one issue every business is facing is loss of customers due to weaker purchasing power... Most manufacturers have cut profit in naira yet naira lost value too
People don't know how bad it is ooh... Take pure water... A family of 5 needs 5 bags weekly minimum.... That's 2000 weekly that's 8000 monthly so if u house earns below 100k a month month drinking pure water is unsustainable

Number 2 ... Access to credit facility is number 2, the minimum u can get a mere 200 million loan today is with 35% interest rate... That means you must pay 70 million yearly as interest to your lender for borrowing you 200 million.... If you pay 80 million per year u would end up paying 1.4 billion over 20 years... To get free in 5 years u must pay 110 million million yearly
So 550 million for borrowing 200 million in 5 years

helinues:
You no even get shame to talk about unstable electricity as the minister of power

Shame oo

Paraman:
PDP has nothing to show in the power sector even though they ruled for over 16 years

Almunjid:
'Minister of Darkness' is happy to announce that: 60% of Manufacturers Forced Off-Grid Due to Unreliable Power Supply.

tollyboy5:
Madridguy helineus seunmsg will skip this kind of new.

Madrid guy said people are celebrating constant light.
How do we come to think that deceit is a normal thing.
This administration has will complete a tenure with no constant light in at least 20% community.
All the growth are on papers. Zero impact
Shame! Shame! Shame!