Nigeria’s Power consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with the export of electricity worth N23.13 billion ($50.98 million) to neighboring countries in 2022, especially when many Nigerian communities continue to experience frequent power outages. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) provided data on the remittances by international customers, revealing that Nigeria exported electricity to the Republics of Benin and Niger and certain special categories of consumers.
According to the NERC data, the total value of exported electricity in 2022 amounted to $50.98 million, but international customers only remitted $32.69 million, leaving a shortfall of $18.29 million. Also, special customers failed to remit N792.6 million during the same period, as the power sector regulator reported.
Electricity consumers have strongly criticized this practice, considering that a significant portion of the Nigerian population lacks access to the national electricity grid. Uket Obonga, the National Secretary of the Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network (NECAN), questioned the economic sense of exporting electricity when millions of Nigerians are still without access to reliable power. Obonga highlighted that Nigeria has the highest number of individuals without electricity in the world, with approximately 90 million people lacking access, compared to 68 million in China, despite its much larger population.
The NERC provided details of remittances made by special/cross-border customers in the fourth quarter of 2022. While some customers, such as Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC, made substantial remittances, others, including Paras-SBEE and Odukpani-CEET, failed to settle their market obligations, resulting in significant shortfalls.
Consumers and industry experts have urged the NERC to take action against non-compliant customers and activate safeguards to address remittance shortfalls. They also called for a comprehensive review of the electricity export policy, emphasizing the need to prioritize providing reliable power supply to Nigerian communities before considering exports.
The debate surrounding electricity exports reflects the challenges faced by Nigeria in balancing domestic power demands with potential revenue from exporting electricity. The government and relevant stakeholders must address the concerns raised by power consumers and devise strategies that ensure adequate power supply to Nigerian households and businesses while effectively managing export opportunities.
