A new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown that Nigeria’s national power grid collapsed 46 times between 2017 and 2023.
It said consistent power failures in the country and deterioration of power infrastructure increased dependency on backup generators for 40 per cent of electricity consumers in Nigeria.
Giving a breakdown, the report said most of the nationwide blackouts occurred in 2023, especially on September 14, when the national grid collapsed as a result of a fire on a major transmission line.
The IEA report identified aged infrastructure and vandalism as some of the challenges the country’s grid had continued to face.
“Although the country has a total installed capacity of about 13 GW, average available capacity remained around 4.5 GW in 2023 due to a combination of factors such as deteriorating units, poor maintenance and liquidity constraints.
“Unreliable power supply due to limited grid infrastructure, underinvestment and ineffective regulatory frameworks have resulted in an estimated 40 per cent of all the electricity consumed in the country being produced from backup generators,” the IEA report showed.
According to the report, natural gas accounted for around 75 per cent of electricity generated on the main grid in 2023 and would continue to play an important role in energy supply and grid stabilisation for Nigeria’s power sector until 2030, and decline by 2050, according to the country’s Energy Transition Plan.
It said renewables also had the potential to increase between 2024 and 2026, at a compound annual growth rate of around eight per cent.
“Hydropower accounts for most of the renewables generation during 2024-2026, largely due to the completion of the Zungeru project, with an estimated generation of 2.6TWh per year.
“Solar PV is expected to grow rapidly, with an average rate of above 50 per cent per year over the next three years,” it added.
