Inside Life: Nigeria exports $81.48bn electricity on credit as country’s blackout persists

Three neighbouring countries bought a total amount of electricity worth $81.48bn from Nigeria in the last two years, even as many households and businesses in the country continued to suffer blackout, ’FEMI ASU reports

The invoices given to the Republics of Togo, Niger and Benin for the electricity supplied to them from Nigeria in 2018 and 2019 totalled $81.48bn, an analysis of data obtained from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has shown.

Niger bought electricity worth $26.03bn in the two-year period while Togo and Benin imported $55.45bn electricity from Nigeria.

Power generation in the country has been hovering between 3,000 megawatts and 4,500MW in the past few years, despite the privatisation of the sector in 2013.

The national grid has continued to suffer system collapse over the years amid lack of spinning reserve that is meant to forestall such occurrences. Between November 1, 2013 and May 2020, the number of total grid collapse recorded was 83 while the grid partially collapsed 25 times.

However, Nigeria, through some of its power plants, sell electricity to the neighbouring countries, which are classified as international customers.

– Punch