According to the World Bank, companies in Nigeria lose $29 billion annually as a result of a “unreliable” electricity source, with customers unable to pay their bills as a result of the crisis.
At the ‘World Bank Dialogue on Fostering Knowledge-Sharing and Dialogue on Power Sector Issues in Nigeria,’ top bank officials said this.
The majority of Nigerians are hesitant to pay for electricity because bills are not “transparent and clear,” according to the World Bank’s Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) fact sheet, presented by Ashish Khanna, practice manager, West and Central Africa Energy.
“Unreliable electricity costs Nigerian businesses about $29 billion per year. Nigerian utilities are only charged for half of the power they receive, according to the survey.
It went on to say that for every N10 worth of energy obtained by electricity distribution companies (DisCos), about N2.6 is wasted due to inadequate distribution facilities and power theft, with another N3.4 going unpaid.
“Six out of ten registered customers are not metered, and their electricity bills are opaque and confusing. This leads to a lack of willingness to pay energy bills.”
Only 51% of installed capacity was available for generation, according to the Bretton Woods institution, since the average Nigerian used four times less energy than his or her counterpart in a traditional lower middle-income region.
It did, however, say that every Nigerian paid less for electricity than the cost of supplying it to them.
According to the paper, the government has been covering the gap for years in order to assist vulnerable Nigerian families in paying their bills.
“However, because wealthier families use more electricity, a large portion of government assistance ends up going to those who do not require assistance with bill payment,” the study continued.
According to the bank, Nigeria is home to one out of every ten people without access to electricity.
“Nigeria now has the largest number of ‘un-electrified people globally, and the trend is worsening,” said Muhammad Wakil, senior energy specialist at the World Bank. With widespread blackouts, the electrified’s supply is very unreliable.”
According to him, Nigeria now has 25% more “un-electrified people” than the world’s second-most-un-electrified nation, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The PSRP, according to the World Bank, is a holistic solution to Nigeria’s power problems, with the aim of reviving the country’s economy by restoring a functional and equitable power system.
The World Bank’s board of directors agreed $1.25 billion in financing to assist the Nigerian government in resetting the power sector between June 2020 and February 2021, according to the World Bank.