NIGERIA will need about N5.970 trillion or $30 billion to meet the energy need of its populace, President of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economic (NAEE), Prof Wumi Iledare, has said.
Iledare gave the hint in Abuja yesterday while speaking on the preparation by stakeholders in the energy sector to stage a walk in Abuja this morning to commemorate the World Energy Day.
Speaking through the immediate past President of the association, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, Iledare stated that fresh investment is urgently needed to boost access to electricity by Nigerians.
He explained: “About $1billion is needed to provide 1000 megawatts of electricity, from the gas turbine to the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and to the consumer. Government has said it is targeting 20,000 megawatts by 2020. Now, we are doing 5,000 megawatts, it means that we need another 15,000 megawatts by 2020 which translates to new investment of $15billion over the next five years.
‘This calculation excludes the rural areas that do not have access to electricity presently. Now, the balance of the additional $15billion will have to be spent on solar and other renewable energy sources for the provision of electricity to the rural areas, which harbours more than 50 percent of the entire population. So, all in all, Nigeria needs fresh investment in the region of about $30billion or N5.970 trillion to achieve stable energy to its entire populace in the next few years.”
Iledare added that out of 170 million Nigerians, only about 25 percent has access to electricity, while the remaining 75 percent is made to do with little or no electricity, just as about 45 percent of the population is connected to the national grid.”
Overall, the professor of Energy Economic revealed that Nigeria currently suffers 90 percent deficiency in electricity supply, while in off-grid areas where some 50 percent of Nigerians live, access to electricity is practically zero.
