Despite a near zero improvement in power supply efficiency under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and contrary to the boast by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, that Nigeria enjoys the cheapest electricity, findings show that over 100 countries offer cheaper electricity compared to Nigeria.
Painfully, this is coming as the current administration has in the last eight years, increased electricity tariff by over 168 per cent, with billing jumping from an average of N23.5 a kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2015 to N63 kWh as of January this year. Nigerians paid between N16 and N31kWh in 2015 for electricity consumption. Currently, a consumer pays between N55kWh to N71kWh, depending on the categorisation.
Notwithstanding the high cost of electricity, supply gaps remain huge with many Nigerians paying estimated bills for unavailable electricity and further depending on generating sets for household and commercial supply.
Indeed, amidst high electricity theft, estimated billing and a worsening financial crisis in the power sector, about nine agencies and ministries of the Federal Government owe the distribution companies about N75 billion accumulated between 2015 and 2020. If the government pays the N8 billion captured in the current budget, Buhari will still transfer a N67 billion-electricity debt burden to the incoming administration.
While many Nigerian households and commercial customers survive on generating power, a UK-based research company, Cable, which measures electricity bills across the world, listed Libya, Angola, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Zimbabwe as top five countries with the cheapest cost of electricity.
Cable disclosed that in Libya, one kWh of electricity stands at $0.07; it is at $0.013 in Angola, $0.014 in Sudan and $0.017 in the case of Kyrgyzstan while consumers in Zimbabwe pay $0.021.
