Market News

By Sami Tunji

Just over half of Nigerian households, 53.6 per cent, have access to electricity, according to the General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) launched by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank.

The survey, which tracks living conditions across the country, reveals significant disparities in electricity access and reliability, with rural areas lagging far behind their urban counterparts.

Speaking at the launch in Abuja, the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, described the survey as a “goldmine” for policymakers and researchers.

He highlighted the report’s critical insights into the challenges faced by Nigerian households, including energy access, economic shocks, and poverty dynamics.

The survey reveals a stark urban-rural divide in electricity access. While 82.2 per cent of urban households have access to power, only 40.4 per cent of rural households are connected.

The South East zone leads with a 74.6 per cent electrification rate, while the North East lags significantly at 29.5 per cent.

The report read, “Approximately one in two Nigerian households reports having access to electricity. The national average is 53.6 per cent, with a remarkable contrast between urban (82.2 per cent) and rural households (40.4 per cent). At the zonal level, the South East zone has the highest electrification rate at 74.6 per cent, while the North East lags behind at 29.5 per cent.”

Despite these disparities, reliability remains a major issue nationwide, as households experience an average of 6.7 blackouts per week, with each lasting approximately 12 hours. Urban households face 6.4 outages weekly, while rural households endure 6.9, with southern zones reporting longer blackout durations exceeding 12 hours compared to less than 11 hours in northern zones.

The report read, “On average, a Nigerian household experiences electricity blackouts 6.7 times per week. Each outage lasts 12.0 hours on average, leading to a total 67.2 hours of blackouts over seven days. There are no significant differences by urban and rural households.

“Urban areas face an average of 6.4 blackouts per week, each lasting about 12.0 hours. Similarly, rural households experience frequent blackouts, averaging 6.9 occurrences per week, with each lasting approximately 12.1 hours. However, southern zones report longer duration of typical blackouts (more than 12 hours) while northern zones report shorter blackouts (less than 11 hours).”

The report also stressed the dominance of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria providing electricity, catering to 88.2 per cent of households with access.

Alternative sources such as generators, solar home systems, and local mini-grids account for less than 3 per cent each, reflecting the heavy reliance on the fragile national grid.

“The Power Holding Company of Nigeria/Nigerian Electric Power Authority (PHCN/NEPA) is the dominant source of electricity nationwide, with an average coverage of 88.2 per cent of the households with access to electricity. Alternative sources, such as generators (2.8 per cent), solar home systems (2.8 per cent), and local mini-grids (2.6 per cent), constitute a much smaller share, underscoring the reliance on the national grid for electricity supply,” the report noted.

The statistician-general emphasised the importance of leveraging the report’s findings for evidence-based policymaking, urging stakeholders to use the data for poverty reduction, social welfare programmes, and economic development strategies.

He noted that the survey’s results had previously informed projects worth $8.9bn in various sectors, including agriculture, education, and governance.