On-nigerian-businesses-spend-estimated-n5-trillion-annually-on-generators
September 7, 2020 | News
ON NIGERIAN BUSINESSES SPEND ESTIMATED N5 TRILLION ANNUALLY ON GENERATORS
It is simply pathetic, and as a matter of fact, embarrassing that Nigeria’s (presumed to be giant of Africa and the world’s most populous black nation) population, businesses and her entire economy, is heavily dependent on Generator sets as the only guaranteed source of power supply. This has made the country’s Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Companies more like laughing stocks - enterprises that are constituting shame to the nation, especially the Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) like the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). It is appalling that the nation is still battling with a generation capacity of about 7,000 MW compared to ‘available energy output’ of only above 4,000MW, when the actual demand of the country is estimated at 20,000MW. The Generation, Transmission and Distribution networks are so poorly configured for reliability that they have been left in deplorable conditions, creating scarce energy and financial loss. As a result, Nigeria’s power consumers pay an astronomically high cost just to get power supply.
We were left speechless when it recently reported that by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), that an estimated N5trn is expended yearly on importing, fueling and maintaining generators by businesses in Nigeria. According to the Executive Director of the REA, Sanusi Ohiare, during the presentation of off-grid and mini-grid goals of the REA at the fourth national council on power (NACOP) in Edo State, he said the agency seeks to channel the $14 billion (N5trn) investment on generator into renewable energy. And we like to add, that is only if the government of the day, and the relevant bodies, agencies and companies concerned in the power sector, are willing to play their part in making the country less dependent on generators. In other words, the big question is, when will Nigeria become a country that is no longer dependent on generators to get power supply? When shall Nigeria come out of being a ‘generator-driven-economy’?
Sometime last year, it was reported that at least over 70 million Nigerians own generator sets and more than N3.5 trillion is spent yearly on fueling these sets. When one considers that 82.1 per cent of the 28.9 million households in Nigeria do not have access to electricity from the national grid and that Nigeria’s electricity consumption per capita is the lowest in Africa, then the imperative of generators to public and private life in Nigeria becomes compelling. The situation is even more troubling when we consider the environmental and health consequences of running a nation on these units in a century where climate change is accepted as one of the defining challenges.
While Nigeria has no standard national emission inventory indicating the percentile contribution of pollution sources, estimates point to petrol and diesel fuelled generators used for domestic and commercial power supply as one of the major sources of pollution. Air pollution induced by indiscriminate generator use has progressively gotten worse in Nigeria to the point that four of Nigerian cities are now on the list of the Most Polluted Cities in the World and 94 per cent of Nigerian citizens are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Tragically, Nigeria has no comprehensive policy framework regulating the use of generators or mitigating the environmental consequences of running generators in millions. Neither has policy makers given much thought to the threat that generator fumes pose to the productivity, health and overall wellbeing of the nation.
A report puts the number of deaths from generator smoke inhalation in Nigeria between 2008 and 2014 at no fewer than 10,000 and almost every week media reports tell of the deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Generator fumes are a mixture of toxic and environmentally unfriendly gases, including carbon monoxide which is odourless and colourless and becomes fatal with sustained concentrations. The exhaust produced by a typical 5.5 kW generator contains as much carbon monoxide as that of six idling cars and in Nigeria’s densely populated urban centres, where almost every house runs multiple generators, this creates health hazards with potentially fatal consequences. Incidents of entire families dying from smoke inhalation is a regular feature in the news media and in one particular case 17 persons died at a religious gathering suspected to be from smoke inhalation in 2008.
Sadly, in spite of all these troubling reports and figures, it is as if the country’s political leaders and relevant authorities in the nation’s power sector are not moved or bothered, as they go about carrying on as if all is well. It is a shame that Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is amongst the lowest in the world and far lower than many other African countries. The saddest part is how every Nigerian Government, rather than do the needful in improving this essential sector for the benefit of Nigerians and the nation’s economy, they prefer to play politics and public propaganda; just like they do with every other sector. In other words, every of our usual “self-praising” Governments would always come out to tell Nigerians that the nation’s power generation has improved more than before, yet Nigerians are not seeing/enjoying these so called “improved power outputs”, as practically everyone that can afford it, is still using one generator or the order to sustain life at their homes and businesses. The usual “power generation has improved more than before” has become a regular public propaganda by Nigerian Governments. But they fail to realize that Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution are very visible and can be seen by Nigerians at the end-of-the-supply-chain if actually there is significant improvements.
We have repeatedly advocated that, modern societies, as a result of population growth, requires much energy/power generation, to make good transition out of poverty, both for economic and social development. This has made countries all over the world to invest so much resources/time on the Power/Energy sector, including developing substitutes for crude oil and gas. But it is rather unfortunate that Nigeria is nowhere to be found amongst nations that enjoy constant power supply, despite the nation’s enormous deposits of mineral resources (particularly natural gas), that can transform the power sector. The importance of power generation cannot be over emphasized for any modern society to thrive economically. For when there is more power, there will be more employment opportunities, income, high life expectancy, and better conditions/quality of life. Power generation is like the engine, the heart beat for industrial growth and the key for enhanced economic activities of any nation. We cannot move forward or do anything without constant uninterrupted power supply. For instance, the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) cannot survive without steady power supply. To encourage the SMEs, there is need for the government to provide the necessary infrastructure, and no economy can grow without the SMEs.
This sector provides a greater number of employments in any economy, and that includes Nigeria. So, if the Nigerian government wants to reduce the rate of unemployment, it should be willing and ready to tackle power supply. There are millions of Commercial Enterprises operating in the country and this includes: Barber Shops, Hair Dressing Salons, Boutiques, Block molding factories, Recording Studios, Dry Cleaning Services, Night Clubs, Casinos, Welders (iron fabricators), Restaurants, Corporate offices, etc, all of which, are utilizing an average of eight liters of petrol per day on different capacity of generator sets. This translates to millions of litters of petrol per day, billions of liters of petrol per month and per annum. And with the current fuel price of N143-N145, which we pray will be retained for long, we can imagine how much we spend as a nation on this area. This does not include the cost of oil change, spare parts and general maintenance of the generator sets. We ask again, how long can we power our economy on generators? When will Nigerians enjoy uninterrupted power supply like other nations that are resourcefully or less endoured like us?
No nation across the globe has ever attained any significant measure of development that has greatly improved the Standard of living of its citizenry, without having steady and reliable power supply. As real as this fact may sound, it appears it has not really sunk into the heads of our past and present political leaders who, from time immemorial, have been doing more of talking and playing politics with Nigeria’s power supply agitations than they are actually taking concrete actions to address the situation. For as long as we can remember, all we have witnessed from Nigeria’s political leaders are promises to do this and that to improve the nation’s power Generation, Transmission and Distribution sectors. But rather than the power situation in the country to improve, it has gone from bad to worse. It is sad that the Nigeria’s power supply output has one time gone as low as over 1000MW (MegaWatts) and the highest of about 5000MW – for a population of about 182 million people.
How come practically every State and nation across the globe are seriously working towards ‘permanently’ addressing their energy supplies, but nothing seems to be happening in Nigeria? There is only one answer we can come up with – and that is the fact that our Nigerian Government are simply playing politics with the nation’s power/energy demands. It has been ’business as usual’ with our mediocre generator-driven economy. This is rather sad. Why can’t we be more innovative in addressing our power challenges in the country like our African brothers and those across the world? Nigeria is a nation that is blessed beyond measure on all-natural resources that can be used to provide enough energy source for its teeming population. From enormous coal deposits, sunlight, natural water ways, wind power, to abundant natural gas reserves that are begging to be tapped and utilized for power generation, transmission and distribution. The one that beats our imagination more is that of gas reserves, which have not been properly developed to fuel Power Stations across the country.
How would our Nigerian economy be left to be generator-driven in this 21st century? How can we develop with this? Is the Nigerian Government not joking and playing politics with the future of Nigerians? Truth is, if the present President Muhammadu Buhari led Government could just focus on and address Nigeria’s electricity supply problems, even if that is the only thing they can achieve, Nigeria’s economy will be better off.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
It is simply pathetic, and as a matter of fact, embarrassing that Nigeria’s (presumed to be giant of Africa and the world’s most populous black nation) population, businesses and her entire economy, is heavily dependent on Generator sets as the only guaranteed source of power supply. This has made the country’s Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Companies more like laughing stocks - enterprises that are constituting shame to the nation, especially the Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) like the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). It is appalling that the nation is still battling with a generation capacity of about 7,000 MW compared to ‘available energy output’ of only above 4,000MW, when the actual demand of the country is estimated at 20,000MW. The Generation, Transmission and Distribution networks are so poorly configured for reliability that they have been left in deplorable conditions, creating scarce energy and financial loss. As a result, Nigeria’s power consumers pay an astronomically high cost just to get power supply.
We were left speechless when it recently reported that by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), that an estimated N5trn is expended yearly on importing, fueling and maintaining generators by businesses in Nigeria. According to the Executive Director of the REA, Sanusi Ohiare, during the presentation of off-grid and mini-grid goals of the REA at the fourth national council on power (NACOP) in Edo State, he said the agency seeks to channel the $14 billion (N5trn) investment on generator into renewable energy. And we like to add, that is only if the government of the day, and the relevant bodies, agencies and companies concerned in the power sector, are willing to play their part in making the country less dependent on generators. In other words, the big question is, when will Nigeria become a country that is no longer dependent on generators to get power supply? When shall Nigeria come out of being a ‘generator-driven-economy’?
Sometime last year, it was reported that at least over 70 million Nigerians own generator sets and more than N3.5 trillion is spent yearly on fueling these sets. When one considers that 82.1 per cent of the 28.9 million households in Nigeria do not have access to electricity from the national grid and that Nigeria’s electricity consumption per capita is the lowest in Africa, then the imperative of generators to public and private life in Nigeria becomes compelling. The situation is even more troubling when we consider the environmental and health consequences of running a nation on these units in a century where climate change is accepted as one of the defining challenges.
While Nigeria has no standard national emission inventory indicating the percentile contribution of pollution sources, estimates point to petrol and diesel fuelled generators used for domestic and commercial power supply as one of the major sources of pollution. Air pollution induced by indiscriminate generator use has progressively gotten worse in Nigeria to the point that four of Nigerian cities are now on the list of the Most Polluted Cities in the World and 94 per cent of Nigerian citizens are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Tragically, Nigeria has no comprehensive policy framework regulating the use of generators or mitigating the environmental consequences of running generators in millions. Neither has policy makers given much thought to the threat that generator fumes pose to the productivity, health and overall wellbeing of the nation.
A report puts the number of deaths from generator smoke inhalation in Nigeria between 2008 and 2014 at no fewer than 10,000 and almost every week media reports tell of the deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Generator fumes are a mixture of toxic and environmentally unfriendly gases, including carbon monoxide which is odourless and colourless and becomes fatal with sustained concentrations. The exhaust produced by a typical 5.5 kW generator contains as much carbon monoxide as that of six idling cars and in Nigeria’s densely populated urban centres, where almost every house runs multiple generators, this creates health hazards with potentially fatal consequences. Incidents of entire families dying from smoke inhalation is a regular feature in the news media and in one particular case 17 persons died at a religious gathering suspected to be from smoke inhalation in 2008.
Sadly, in spite of all these troubling reports and figures, it is as if the country’s political leaders and relevant authorities in the nation’s power sector are not moved or bothered, as they go about carrying on as if all is well. It is a shame that Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is amongst the lowest in the world and far lower than many other African countries. The saddest part is how every Nigerian Government, rather than do the needful in improving this essential sector for the benefit of Nigerians and the nation’s economy, they prefer to play politics and public propaganda; just like they do with every other sector. In other words, every of our usual “self-praising” Governments would always come out to tell Nigerians that the nation’s power generation has improved more than before, yet Nigerians are not seeing/enjoying these so called “improved power outputs”, as practically everyone that can afford it, is still using one generator or the order to sustain life at their homes and businesses. The usual “power generation has improved more than before” has become a regular public propaganda by Nigerian Governments. But they fail to realize that Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution are very visible and can be seen by Nigerians at the end-of-the-supply-chain if actually there is significant improvements.
We have repeatedly advocated that, modern societies, as a result of population growth, requires much energy/power generation, to make good transition out of poverty, both for economic and social development. This has made countries all over the world to invest so much resources/time on the Power/Energy sector, including developing substitutes for crude oil and gas. But it is rather unfortunate that Nigeria is nowhere to be found amongst nations that enjoy constant power supply, despite the nation’s enormous deposits of mineral resources (particularly natural gas), that can transform the power sector. The importance of power generation cannot be over emphasized for any modern society to thrive economically. For when there is more power, there will be more employment opportunities, income, high life expectancy, and better conditions/quality of life. Power generation is like the engine, the heart beat for industrial growth and the key for enhanced economic activities of any nation. We cannot move forward or do anything without constant uninterrupted power supply. For instance, the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) cannot survive without steady power supply. To encourage the SMEs, there is need for the government to provide the necessary infrastructure, and no economy can grow without the SMEs.
This sector provides a greater number of employments in any economy, and that includes Nigeria. So, if the Nigerian government wants to reduce the rate of unemployment, it should be willing and ready to tackle power supply. There are millions of Commercial Enterprises operating in the country and this includes: Barber Shops, Hair Dressing Salons, Boutiques, Block molding factories, Recording Studios, Dry Cleaning Services, Night Clubs, Casinos, Welders (iron fabricators), Restaurants, Corporate offices, etc, all of which, are utilizing an average of eight liters of petrol per day on different capacity of generator sets. This translates to millions of litters of petrol per day, billions of liters of petrol per month and per annum. And with the current fuel price of N143-N145, which we pray will be retained for long, we can imagine how much we spend as a nation on this area. This does not include the cost of oil change, spare parts and general maintenance of the generator sets. We ask again, how long can we power our economy on generators? When will Nigerians enjoy uninterrupted power supply like other nations that are resourcefully or less endoured like us?
No nation across the globe has ever attained any significant measure of development that has greatly improved the Standard of living of its citizenry, without having steady and reliable power supply. As real as this fact may sound, it appears it has not really sunk into the heads of our past and present political leaders who, from time immemorial, have been doing more of talking and playing politics with Nigeria’s power supply agitations than they are actually taking concrete actions to address the situation. For as long as we can remember, all we have witnessed from Nigeria’s political leaders are promises to do this and that to improve the nation’s power Generation, Transmission and Distribution sectors. But rather than the power situation in the country to improve, it has gone from bad to worse. It is sad that the Nigeria’s power supply output has one time gone as low as over 1000MW (MegaWatts) and the highest of about 5000MW – for a population of about 182 million people.
How come practically every State and nation across the globe are seriously working towards ‘permanently’ addressing their energy supplies, but nothing seems to be happening in Nigeria? There is only one answer we can come up with – and that is the fact that our Nigerian Government are simply playing politics with the nation’s power/energy demands. It has been ’business as usual’ with our mediocre generator-driven economy. This is rather sad. Why can’t we be more innovative in addressing our power challenges in the country like our African brothers and those across the world? Nigeria is a nation that is blessed beyond measure on all-natural resources that can be used to provide enough energy source for its teeming population. From enormous coal deposits, sunlight, natural water ways, wind power, to abundant natural gas reserves that are begging to be tapped and utilized for power generation, transmission and distribution. The one that beats our imagination more is that of gas reserves, which have not been properly developed to fuel Power Stations across the country.
How would our Nigerian economy be left to be generator-driven in this 21st century? How can we develop with this? Is the Nigerian Government not joking and playing politics with the future of Nigerians? Truth is, if the present President Muhammadu Buhari led Government could just focus on and address Nigeria’s electricity supply problems, even if that is the only thing they can achieve, Nigeria’s economy will be better off.
Zik Gbemre, JP.