SHOCKING: Nigerians Spend N1.5 Trn Fueling Generators Annually

Renewable energy is a largely untapped source of power that the Federal Government must focus on to address the spreading darkness across the country. 

A couple of years ago, while he was still serving as Lagos State governor; the Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola said "we do not have power because power is difficult to generate, we have darkness because we have incompetent people managing our economy".

Fashola is now the Minister of Power but the giant of Africa is still groping in darkness.

You know how much you spend running that small business and powering your home.

Without stable electricity, Nigerians have to generate their own power and now spend an estimated 5 billion dollars, about 1.5 trillion naira, fueling their generators annually.

This figure may even be more as many Nigerians rely on generators to provide electricity for both domestic and commercial uses.

The House of Representatives is disturbed over the trend. The lawmakers say this is an indication of the unhealthy state of the country’s power sector, which must be fixed urgently.

The Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, who gave the position in Abuja on Tuesday, said the House is ready to support the executive arm of government to find solutions to the problems of the power sector, including intensifying efforts at developing renewable energy.

Dogara spoke at the opening of a public hearing on three power sector-related bills by the House Committee on Power.

The bills are ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Utilisation, Sustainability and Adequate Supply of Renewable Energy for Electricity and Heat Generation and for other Related Matters’;

‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Metre Reading, Billing and Cash Collection and Credit Management for Electricity Supplies and Regulations to Address Matters Relating to Outstanding Liability of Electric Bills in Rented Apartments’; and

‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electric Power Sector Reform Act to Re-position the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for Effective Service Delivery and for Related Matters’.