Despite the necessity to reduce carbon footprint in the country and continent, for many businesses in Nigeria, the greater concern is how to generate adequate electricity to sustain business operations and remains a going concern. Considering the continent’s overall contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is already low at less than four percent, deploying renewable energy is however necessitated by the need to reduce energy costs at a time diesel prices are bringing businesses to their knees.
Energy costs are a major contributor to the decades-high inflation numbers showing up, as prices for all manner of goods and services march higher. In Nigeria especially, diesel is considered an economic fuel, going by how embedded it is in transportation and power for homes and industrial firms.
With diesel rising above the N800 mark, many businesses have expressed concerns about available alternatives and the ripple effect on the cost of goods and services, especially at a time inflation is spiking.
For a nation with a poor electricity supply, the situation is dire not just for businesses but for many households.
Recently, Sterling Bank Plc and Stears Data, in a new report on Nigeria’s electricity crisis, advocated the adoption of renewable energy as a viable solution to complement domestic and commercial supply.
The report entitled, “Powering Nigeria: How solar energy can become a sustainable electricity alternative,” showed that despite the privatization of Nigeria’s electricity industry, the country still has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world as 43 percent of its population have no access to grid electricity, an indication “that 85 million Nigerians are not connected to – and cannot receive electricity from – the Nigerian transmission grid.”
The report in a comparative electrification rate analysis noted that Ghana has an electrification rate of 84 percent, Kenya 70 percent, South Africa 85 percent, sub-Saharan Africa at 47 percent, India 98 percent, Europe at 100 percent, global at 90 percent and Nigeria at 55 percent. It noted that while Nigeria’s electrification rate is above the sub-Saharan Africa regional average of 47 percent, it lags significantly behind its
peers across the continent and the global average.
According to the report, Nigeria’s grid-supplied electricity is grossly insufficient, thereby causing the country to have the largest electricity access deficit in the world.
Nice write up