Abuja, Nigeria. 18th August 2015 – Power poll results released by NOIPolls Limited for the second quarter of 2015 revealed that the average cumulative power supply received per day by Nigerian households within a 27-month period (April, 2013 to June, 2015) was below 6 hours per day. The implication of this indicates that individuals are relying and spending more on alternative sources of power to ensure efficiency in the running of their homes and businesses.
More findings revealed that despite the reforms carried out in the power sector by the government, Nigerians are still facing erratic power supply as the monthly average cumulative hours received ranged from 3.9 – 8.2 hours per day; with 17 Percent of the entire population not receiving electricity at all in the period in view. Nigerian households receiving such low periods (hours) of power supply in the 21st century is indicative of a deficiency in infrastructural development that goes beyond theoretical reforms and unbundling of assets, while also emphasizing the urgent need for an entire overhaul of the sector.
A direct effect of this poor power supply can be seen in the massive number of Nigerians (77.5 Percent) who have resorted to purchasing and using alternative sources of power (such as generators, inverters, and solar panels) for residential and business purposes. This has also created an additional strain on the financial burden of these households as these alternative sources are usually more expensive to maintain as opposed to direct power supply from DISCOs. Moreover, findings from previous NOIPolls power reports have shown that Nigerians typically spend between ₦3,302 – ₦3,726 on actual electricity supply while spending between ₦7,866 – ₦12,351 in running alternative sources of power supply within a 15-month period from (April 2014 to June 2015).
Brief background
Owing to the lack of growth and capacity to meet demand of electricity consumers in Nigeria, the Federal Government initiated a series of reform projects and policies whose core objective was to ensure that Nigeria has an efficient electricity supply industry that could meet the needs of its citizens in the 21st century by providing all current and prospective economically justifiable demands for electricity throughout the country.
Due to this lack of infrastructural development in the sector, as the last transmission line was built in 1987 and the youngest plant in 1990, average daily generation dwindled down to 1,750 MW leaving an estimated 90 million without access to grid electricity. Despite the attempted reforms of the power sector by the Federal Government, Nigeria has not been able to generate more than 4,500 MW of electricity for over 170 million people. This inability to meet current demand has led to a high rate of load shedding which has inevitably resulted in low power and complete absence (in some areas of the Country) of power supply experienced all around the nation
With the aim of monitoring the progress made so far in the power sector reforms in Nigeria, NOIPolls introduced the Power Polls in 2013 to explore the perception of Nigerians towards the power sector reforms. The polls are conducted monthly to explore the amount of power supply received daily and expenditures made on power supply, as well as the state of power supply to households and its effect to consumers especially in the use of alternative sources of power and it financial implications.
In conducting the power polls, respondents were asked 5 specific questions every month; one of these questions (centered on the cumulative hours of power supply) will be discussed in this release. The result presented is a 27-Month tracking of the usage of alternative sources of power supply by Nigerian households. For a full report, please contact NOIPolls on enquiries@noi-polls.com
Key Findings
Quarterly Average Cumulative Hours of Direct Power Supply Received by Consumers
Nigerians were asked to state the number of hours of direct power supply they received in a day in their household over the past month. Findings revealed that from Q2 2013 to Q2 2015, the majority of Nigerian households received 1-4 hours of cumulative power supply, this proportion of Nigerians was highest in Q2 2014 (47 percent) and lowest in Q3 2014 (29 percent).
In addition, 14 Percent of the population in Q2 2013 did not receive any electricity at all from DISCOs, and this proportion of Nigerians witnessed an all-time high of 21 percent in Q4 2014, quickly followed by Q3 2014, with 20 Percent. Conversely, the number of respondents who received 19-24 hours of light has remained almost the same, going from 5 Percent in Q2 2013 to 8 Percent in Q3 2014 and back to 5 Percent in Q2 2015.
Further analysis revealed that even in the face of the ongoing reforms in the power sector, Nigerians are still suffering major black outs all over the nation as daily cumulative direct power supply keeps dropping. The average cumulative hours of power supply to Nigerians amounted to 4.9 hours in Q2 2015; this figure represents the lowest quarterly average cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians. On the other hand, the highest average cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians from Q2 2013 to Q2 2015 was recorded at 7.1 hours.
Monthly Average Cumulative Power Supply Received Per Day
To gauge the daily quantity of power supply received by Nigerian households, in hours, respondents were asked, “On the average, how many hours of cumulative power supply do you have in a day?” Generally, over a 27-month period (April, 2013 to June, 2015), the average cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerian households ranged between 3.9 – 8.2 hours per day. These figures marked the lowest and highest monthly cumulative hours of power supply to Nigerian households recorded in May 2015 and September 2014 respectively. Moreover, the average cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians in the 27-month period was recorded at 5.8 hours.
In conclusion, the results from the power polls conducted from Q1 2013 to Q2 2015 revealed that an average of 17 percent of Nigerian households did not receive any electricity from DISCOs, while majority received between 1-4 hours per day in a 27-month period (April 2013 to June 2015). The results further revealed that the highest average daily cumulative power supply Nigerian household received, within the same period in view was recorded 8.2 hours per day. In addition, a comparison of Q2 2013, Q2 2014 and Q2 2015 shows a visible regressive trend as daily cumulative hours of power supply dropped from 6.4 to 5.7 and to 3.9 respectively, despite the billions of Naira invested to resuscitate the sector.
Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted from April 2013 to June 2015. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 27,000 phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. NOIPolls Limited, No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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