Nigeria Businesses Lose $29bn Annually To Poor Electricity — World Bank
The World Bank on Wednesday revealed that businesses in Nigeria lose about $29bn yearly as a result of the country’s unrealiable power supply.
The report disclosed that Nigeria had the largest number of people without access to standby electricity in the world, stressing further that every one in 10 people without access to electricity reside in Nigeria.
This statement was contained in the Power Sector Recovery Programme fact sheet that was presented during the Bank’s Virtual dialogue with energy reporters on Wednesday.
The presentation was delivered by Ashish Khanna, the bank’s Practice Manager, West and Central Africa. He said, “Businesses in Nigeria lose about $29bn annually because of unreliable electricity. Nigerian utilities get paid for only a half of electricity they receive.
“For every N10 worth of electricity received by Discos (distribution companies), about N2.60 is lost in poor distribution infrastructure and through power theft and another N3.40 is not being paid for by customers.
“Six in 10 of registered customers are not metered, and their electricity bills are not transparent and clear. This contributes to resistance to pay electricity bills.”
He added that between June 2020 and February 2021, the World Bank Board approved $1.25bn financing to support the government in its efforts to reset the power sector.
