Nigeria Overtakes Congo, Worst In Global Electricity Access

This was revealed by the World Bank Group officials during a virtual engagement with power reporters in Abuja on the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP).

"Nigeria now has the largest number of unelectrified people globally and the trend is worsening; of the electrified, the supply is very unreliable with widespread blackouts,ÔÇØ said a presentation from the group.

It stated that electrification, which was growing at 1.1% yearly since 2010, has not kept pace with the population growth of 3% yearly. This has increased the deficit by 3 million people to 85m which is 57% of the population.

"Nigeria now has 25% more unelectrified people than the 2nd most unelectrified country (DRC - in absolute terms).ÔÇØ

Commenting, WBG Practice Manager, West and Central Africa Energy, Ashish Khanna, who had presented the document, said: "The power sector is operationally inefficient with unreliable supply exacerbated by high losses and lack of payment discipline.

"Businesses in Nigeria lose about $29 billion annually because of unreliable electricity while Nigerian utilities get paid for only a half of electricity they receive.ÔÇØ

However, the bank said the PSRP intervention is helping to change the narrative. It approved $1.25bn between June 2020 and February 2021 to reset the power sector.

The bank also said to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, Nigeria would need to connect over 1 million households yearly while devising means to ensure consumers pay for the electricity consumed.