Abuja, Nigeria, 20th October 2015 – Power poll results released by NOIPolls Limited for the third quarter of 2015 revealed that while it had been the norm for most Nigerian households to receive between 0-4 hours of cumulative power supply from Q2 2013 to Q2 2015, there was a turnaround in Q3 2015 as a higher proportion of Nigerian households (70 percent) received above 4 hours of cumulative power supply with an average of 9.7 hours in Q3 2015 (July-September 2015). This figure represents an all-time high record of average daily cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians since the privatization of the power sector. This therefore depicts an improvement in power supply to Nigerian households, even as a considerable proportion of households (13 percent) confirmed they received between 19-24 hours of power supply.
The improvement in power supply over Q3 2015, climaxed in September 2015 as Nigerians received an average of 10.8 hours of power supply daily. Recent improvement in the power sector has been reported to be a direct positive reflection of peaked generation of power over this period with an all-time high of 4800 megawatts1 in September 2015. This means that on the side of an electricity consumer, preferably a small scale entrepreneur who experienced increased daily cumulative hours of power supply over this period, this spells reduced operational cost especially in the use of alternative sources of power supply.
Finally, while this improvement presents a cause for hope for Nigerian households and businesses, the sustenance and continuous improvement of power supply to meet the demand of a growing population becomes a more critical milestone to be achieved in the power sector; one which will gradually translate into the creation of an enabling environment for the optimisation of both businesses and household activities.
Brief Background:
Nigeria’s energy need is on a constant increase due to the growing population. 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 the 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 over 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.
In the recent times the power sector experienced an increase in generation of power; in September 2015, peak capacity generation was about 4800 mega-watts scaling past the average 3,000 megawatts that has been consistently generated since the power sector privatization in Q3 2013[1]. While this clearly represents a tremendous improvement in power generation, it must be noted that the projected energy demands for 2015 is recorded 31,210 Mega-Watts[2].
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 expenditure 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’s financial implications. On this press release, NOIPolls reviewed a recent trend on daily cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians over a 30-Month period.
Key Findings on Average Daily Cumulative Hours of Power Supply Received By Nigerian Households over a 30-Month Period (April 2013-September 2015)
Nigerians were asked how many hours of cumulative power supply they received in a day over the past month. Comparing quarterly results over a 30-month period revealed that Nigerians enjoyed an increased power supply to their households in Q3 2015 as 70 percent of Nigerians received above 4 hours of daily cumulative power supply, compared with previous quarters where most Nigerians received 0-4 hours of daily cumulative power supply.
Furthermore, findings also revealed a gradual improvement in the cumulative hours of power supply from Q3 2014 with a decline in the proportion of Nigerians who received less than 4 hours of daily cumulative power supply. This improvement climaxed in Q3 2015 where for the first time since privatization, 24 percent of Nigerians received between 14-24 hours of power supply; while 25 percent received 4-9 hours of power supply.
Further analysis on the daily cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerian households over a 30-Month period revealed that Q3 of 2015 recorded an all-time high of 9.7 hours average daily cumulative hours of power supply. This figure depicts that on average, Nigerians enjoyed additional 4.8 hours of power supply in Q3 2015 from the previous quarter. Trend analysis also revealed that the lowest average hours of power supply was recorded in Q2 of 2015 where Nigerians received only 4.9 hours.
A closer view at the daily cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerian households by month revealed a steady increase in the average cumulative hours of power supply from May 2015 (which recorded the lowest figures; 3.9 hours) to September 2015 where Nigerians received an average of 10.8 hours of power supply. September of Q3 in 2015 recorded a major improvement in power supply as Nigerians received up to 10.8 hours of power supply which is the all-time highest since the privatization of the power sector in 2013. It is much interesting to note that during this same period, (50 percent) of Nigerians received between 9 to 24 hours of power supply.
In conclusion, while results portrayed improvement in the power sector in Q3 of 2015 where Nigerians received an average of 9.7 hours of power supply, It is important that Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) puts more effort in checkmating the challenges faced by electricity consumers to ensure a maximum coherence between electricity generation, transmission, distribution and consumption.
Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted from April 2013 to September 2015. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 30,000 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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[1] http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/business/35596-nigerian-electricity-stagnant-at-3000mw
[2]http://www.energy.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121:commission-puts-2015-power-need-at-31240mw-&catid=1:latest-news
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