…90million Nigerians not linked to the national grid
World Bank has said that Nigeria has the highest energy deficit on the Africa continent, and that over 90 million people are not linked to the national grid.
Speaking at a seminar, titled “Unlocking Opportunities for Clean and Sustainable Energy” at the Lagos 2022, a senior energy specialist for the World Bank, Mr. Arsh Sharma, asserted that “Nigeria is the only country experiencing that kind of an energy crisis.
According to her, over 90 million people in Nigeria lack access to power. “The development bank partners must work together to support the efforts of the Nigerian government at both the federal and state levels because this is the largest energy deficit in all of Africa,” he said.
He hinted that the World Bank has started a rural electrification project to provide access to power for those living in rural areas of the nation.
According to him, the project’s initial goal was to target 450,000 families, but that it has outperformed that goal in terms of impact, creating over 100,000 jobs and having an influence on the lives of 4 million Nigerians.
“Going forward, our goal is to triple the ambition. Because there are many unexplored potentials for the marketing of PV solar systems, we started interacting with the Lagos State government and doing a realistic study for distributed PV. We have been providing technical assistance to the State, and we will aid it in putting its plans in place for PV solar energy, he said.
Stakeholders at the event stressed that more Nigerians would still severe from the national grid.
Lagos state commissioner for energy and mineral resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote, said due to the large number of players in the solar industry, solar is the most dynamic industry in the nation. According to him, the state has set a goal for Lagos of 1 Gigawatt of solar power by 2030.
In order to accomplish this, he explained, a sizable amount of capital must be mobilized.
The commissioner emphasised that the state is working with Discos to install lighthouses in certain locations where it may intervene to increase power supply at a reasonable cost.
Lagos state, he hinted, is planning to disconnect the Lagos state grid from the national grid so that the state won’t be impacted by any grid failures.
Managing director, FCMB, Mr. Yemi Edun, in his comments asserted that renewable energy is here to stay and emphasized the necessity of strong partnerships between the public and commercial sectors to advance renewable energy in the nation.
She noted that the federal government lacks the capacity to supply power to the 40% of the population that is not connected to the national grid.
FCMB has identified critical sector sectors to ensure the rapid development of renewable energy in the nation, she said, adding that over the course of the previous four years, the bank had given out loans totaling more than $6 billion to advance the nation’s solar energy industry.
Be the first to know when we publish an update
