Electricity sector assessment in Nigeria: the post-liberation era

Abstract

To improve the electricity services in Nigeria, the government has embarked on a total reform of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. The reform started with rehabilitating the government-owned electricity infrastructures in 1999 and implementing the 2010 Power Sector Reform. While some stakeholders have seen these reforms benefit the industry, others have yet to see the positive impact of the reforms. Based on this premise, this work presents a synopsis of the Nigerian power sector’s past, present, and future. A review of its state of the art is explored and presented using documents and recent literature on the Nigerian electricity sector. Findings from the study show that infrastructural deficits and administrative lapses dominated the pre-liberation era. The privatization of electricity led to organizational structure and infrastructure improvements. The sector was unbundled into the GenCos, TransCo, Discos, and the regulatory bodies assigned well-defined tasks. The generation capacity has increased to 16,384 MW against the pre-liberation figure of approximately 6000 MW. As against the approximate figure of 10,000 km covered by the transmission infrastructure, an additional 10,000 km has been added to the existing transmission facilities. Although there have been improvements in service deliveries, there are still more grounds to cover to stabilize the Nigerian electricity sector. It is proposed that stakeholders harmonize the various policies and structural changes to make the necessary improvements.

Keywords:

• Electricity generation and supply
• distributions companies
• market regulation
• electricity tariff

Public interest statement

For more than a decade, various African countries have adopted power sector reforms to enhance their electricity industry. However, some have failed to deliver the various targets that were promised. The outcome of this research evaluates the successes and challenges of power sector reform in Nigeria. This would help decision-makers identify areas that need modifications.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Olubayo Babatunde

Olubayo Babatunde completed a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology South Africa in 2020. He is a registered Engineer in Nigeria and also a member of the American Energy Association.

Elutunji Buraimoh

Elutunji Buraimoh is a member of IEEE. He completed his Doctor of Engineering at Durban University of Technology, South Africa. His research interests include inverter-based microgrids, renewable energy, power systems control, and FACTS devices.

Oluwatobi Tinuoye

Oluwatobi Tinuoye finished his master’s degree in Electrical Electronic Engineering, University of Lagos. He is a registered Power System Engineer.

Clement Ayegbusi

Clement Ayegbusi finished his master’s degree in the Department of Electrical Electronic Engineering, University of Lagos. He is currently with Clema Engineering Consultants, Lagos, Nigeria

Innocent Davidson

Innocent Davidson is currently a Full Professor and the Chair of the Department of Electrical Power Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban. His research interests include grid integration of renewable energy using HVDC technologies and innovation for smart cities. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1998. He is also a fellow of IET, U.K., and SAIEE, a Chartered Engineer in the U.K., and a registered ECSA Professional Engineer.

Desmond Eseoghene Ighravwe

Desmond Eseoghene Ighravwe is a professor of mechanical engineering at the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D. degree from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria. His research interests include Artificial intelligence, Operations research, Production & Maintenance engineering, Decision Analysis, and Energy and Waste