Nigeria's failing power sector: how Buhari can improve it Report

Insight 30 October 2015

This report is currently unavailable

Share link

First name
Last name
Job Title
Company
Email
Telephone

Country

Message

Consent

Please keep me informed about Wood Mackenzie products, services and events.

Submit Category

For details on how your data is used and stored, see our Privacy Notice.

- FAQs about online orders
- Find out more about subscriptions

Report summary

Nigeria’s power sector has been transformed in the past three years, but long-suffering customers are yet to notice a dramatic improvement in supply. Privatisation was supposed to cure decades of state neglect, but the sale of generation and distribution only attracted local buyers with little or no power sector experience. To make things worse, the commercial framework is weak, while gas supply to power is regularly disrupted by vandalism. The sector may be in private hands, but the government still determines its fate. President Buhari must secure pipelines, staunch the revenue leaks from government, and - most important of all - end fuel subsidies. Multi-billion dollar savings would allow the government to honour its legacy debts, subsidise power for low-income customers and finish its programme of investments. This would stabilise the sector and set it on the path to recovery.

Introduction
Where are we today?
- Generation
- Transmission
- Distribution
Privatisation is no guarantee of success
What should Buhari do?
- Improve security of gas supply
- Improve DISCO liquidity and cut losses
- End fuel subsidies
- Subsidise low-income residential consumers
- Complete the National Integrated Power Projects
- Fund more regulatory capacity building
- Further support for low-cost, off-grid generation and solar power
Conclusion