Naija major cities dey suffer blackout as power grid don collapse again 

ABUJA-Naija major cities like Abuja, Lagos and Kano dey experience blackout on Thursday October 7, 2024 as di country electricity grid don collapse for di tenth time dis year.

Transmission Company of Naija talk say “partial disturbance of di system” cause di latest blackout, but dem no give more details.

Grid failure dey common for Naija wia di power industry dey suffer from lack of investment.

Di national grid don collapse 10 times dis year, di first time na Feb. 4 and di latest time na Tuesday.

Africa most populous country fit generate 13,000 megawatts, but e fit only transmit 4,000 megawatts bicos of weak infrastructure, na wetin transmission company talk last year.

Dat amount no dey enough for population wey pass 200 million pipo.

Naija dey get about 40,000 megawatts from gasoline-powered generators for house and business, according to Adebayo Adelabu, Naija minister of power.

Apart from weak infrastructure, armed groups don also sabotage power supply.

Last month, nordirn part of di country no get power for more than seven days afta insurgents vandalize transmission lines, na wetin Transmission Company of Naija talk.

Last year, Naija pass law wey go allow states to generate and transmit power na way to ease di burden for di old national grid and attract investors to di sector.

Naija experience nationwide power outage for about 10 hours on Thursday afta di country electrical grid collapse bicos of fire, authorities and di nation electricity distribution companies talk.

Di grid don collapse plenty times for recent years, and di latest outage affect all of Naija 36 states and di capital city Abuja before dem restore electricity for most parts of di country.

Fire for one of di country power plants cause “sharp drops in frequency” wey lead to grid failure early Thursday, Adebayo Adebulu, Naija minister of power, talk for X, wey dem don change from Twitter.

“Di fire don fully stop, and over half of di connections don dey work now, di rest go restore well-well soon,” Adebulu talk Thursday aftanoon.

Di Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), wey dey supply light for soudiast Naija, don earlier release statement wey talk say “total system” don collapse.

“Bicos of this matter we no fit provide service for our customers,” company spokespesin Emeka Ezeh talk.

Many schoolchildren for Naija dey face this reality, wia plenty buildings no get access to national electricity grid.

For Excellent Moral School wey dey Olodo Okin for Ibadan, “di whole community no dey connect, including di school,” na wetin school founder Muyideen Raji talk.

E dey affect pupils well well, him talk, wey no fit learn how to use computer or Internet and no fit study for evening time.

About half of Naija wey get more than 200 million pipo dey connect to national electricity grid wey no fit provide enough daily electricity for most wey dey connect.

Plenty poor, rural communities like Olodo Okin dey completely off di grid.

E dey for country wey plenty sunshine, many pipo dey look for solar energy to help fill di gaps.

But to get investors wey no wan take risk to finance big solar projects wey go fit give Naija enough reliable energy na wahala.

E mean say millions for di country dey find ways to live wit small or no electricity.

Study don show say Naija fit generate plenty more electricity than wetin e need from solar energy bicos of im strong sunshine.

But 14 grid-scale solar projects for di nordirn and central part of di country wey fit generate 1,125 megawatts of electricity don jam since dem sign contract for 2016.

dose wey dey try develop solar project for di country dey blame interest rate for borrowing wey fit reach 15 percent, wey be two to three times higher than for advanced economies and China, according to di International Energy Agency.

Dat mean say e dey cost more for solar companies to work for Naija or odir developing countries than for rich countries.

Africa get only one-fifth di solar power capacity of Germany, and just 2% of global clean energy investments dey go to di continent.

“Di same project wey dem fit put for Naija and Denmark; di Danish project go get funding for 2 to 3 percent” interest rate, na so Najim Animashaun, di director of Nova Power, one of di stalled solar projects talk.

Meanwhile, e dey struggle to get loans even wit interest rates of 10 percent or higher, “even though my solar project fit produce two and half times more power,” than di Danish one.

Naija no dey set wetin dem dey call cost-reflective tariffs, meaning di money wey consumers dey pay for electricity no fit cover di cost to produce and distribute am.

Dis one mean say distribution companies no fit pay producers well-well and di industry dey rely on government intervention to survive, wey dey scare lenders from investing for di solar industry.

Currently, power producers dey talk say dem dey owe up to 3.7 trillion Naira ($2.7 billion) by di government, wey dey make am hard to meet dem obligations to dem lenders and contractors.

One option fit be to get World Bank guarantees wey go make investors feel better and make dem more willing to put money for solar projects.

But di government dey careful to sign anything wey go force dem to pay big money even if di electricity from di projects no reach consumers bicos of inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Witout World Bank guarantee, “nobody go fit develop or finance project wey get government subsidy, bicos e fit dry up,” na wetin Edu Okeke, di managing director of Azura Power talk.

Azura Power get stake for di now-stalled 100-megawatt Nova solar project for Naija nordirn Katsina State.

Stop-gap solutions 

Wit less than 8,000 megawatts capacity and average supply wey less than 4,000 megawatts wey be less than half wetin Singapore dey supply to just 5.6 million pipo power outage na everyday matter for Naija.

Communities like Excellent Moral School for Ibadan wey no get access to electricity dey often surrounded by more fortunate ones wey dey connected to di grid but dey experience frequent outage and dey use gasoline and diesel-run private generators.

Wit di long-running petroleum subsidy wey dem don remove, plenty house, school, hospital and business dey struggle wit di cost of fuel for dem backup generator.

“We don stop to use diesel generator as alternative bicos e dey cost too much,” na wetin Abdulhakeem Adedoja, di head of Lorat Nursery and Primary School for Ibadan talk.

E add say although di school dey for one area for Ibadan wey dey connect to di grid, dem fit go two weeks witout power supply.

Di wahala no be only say electricity no dey for computer-aided learning, correct lighting, and fans wey go make class no too hot for pupils and teachers, but also say students no fit finish dem school assignment for house, Adedoja talk.

For small business wey dey use plenty energy like restaurant, dem eidir close shop or continue wit alternative power generation, dey incur high cost wey go affect dem capacity to expand.

Bunola Akinwale, wey be owner of Nature’s Treat Cafe for Ibadan, talk say she dey pay 2.5 million Naira ($1,700) every month to power backup generators for her four branches.

“If nothing change, I fit need to close one or two branches,” she talk, but she dey plan to go solar wey she dey happy say go help us reduce “pollution from di diesel (generators).”

“She dey discuss wit her bank for low-cost loan package wey dem design specially for young women entrepreneurs to finance di solar option.”

But, no be every business and household get dat kind access or fit afford di money wey dem go need to set up private solar system. School heads Raji and Adedoja talk say dem find di costs too much.

Finding way forward

Di solar projects wey don stop no dey happen bicos money no dey add up, but even for odir sources of electricity generation, Naija dey struggle to attract di private financing wey dem need badly.

Power minister, Adebayo Adelabu, talk for May say to fit solve di financial wahala wey dey affect di electricity sector, prices suppose show di true cost of service bicos broke.

“Government no fit pay 3 trillion Naira ($2.4 billion) for subsidy.”

Di government still dey insist say if Naijans dey pay full price for di electricity wey dem dey use, e go encourage investment for di sector.

Some pipo don dey push back against dat, as labor unions go on strike for early June partly to protest electricity tariff increase.

But business pipo like Akinwale sabi di government position bicos regular grid electricity, even witout subsidy, dey “still cheaper and cleaner” than diesel for generator, she talk.

If money for grid-scale solar projects no dey add up, di government suppose give incentives like tax relief and payment plans to encourage private solar adoption, Akinwale talk.

“Sunlight dey plenty,” she talk.

Former regulatory chief Sam Amadi dey doubt if consumers for Naija wia minimum wage na 30,000 Naira ($20) a month “fit pay for energy wey dem dey use witout subsidy.”

He still want policy wey go make am easier to get smaller-scale solar projects for communities, businesses and homes.

Until den, dem get consequences for di plenty blackout, e talk.

“I get di story of pesin wey die for hospital bicos di light no dey during operation,” e talk.

“Every day, we dey see di real-world effects of di lack of light.”

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