effects of eletricity shortage in nigeria

Introduction

Regular electricity supply is essential to the development of any state. Electricity use is interrelated with healthy economic growth (Kaseke &Hosking 2013). Nigeria being one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, only about 40% of the inhabitants is connected to electricity, but this connected population experience difficulties roughly 60% of the time (Aliyu, Ramli & Saleh, 2013).In 2010 the government of Nigeria initiated a reform known as the “power sector reform road map” whose aim was unbundling the government sponsored electricity sector and promoting private sector- led electricity.

Effects of inadequate electricity supply on business

Power plays an important role in enhancing productivity of many other factor inputs such as labour. Unreliable power leads to disruption in production, loss of perishable goods and to a more extent loss in orders. Significant numbers of youths have turned from the technical and engineering sector to the informal sector. Many of these youths have trained in welding, fashion design and other electric related fields. This will in the forerun bring a huge impact in the economy of Nigeria.

Statistics indicate that more than half of the cities industrial establishments have been forced to shut down because of lack of power. Small scale entrepreneurs in the informal and formal sectors also rely on electricity to run their business.

The potential of the power sector can to a great extent be weighed down by security problems. In Nigeria, the Niger delta that holds the fossil used to drive power plants is not stable while the northern parts that hold the hydro resources is affected by vandalism and violet attacks. Insecurity is a major problem because most of the natural resources are controlled by insurgents such as the Boko Haram among others.

Nigeria is considered as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It is for this reason that most reforms initiated by the government do not yield any fruits.  The vast amount of natural resources at its disposal has led to the development of cheap energy sources, but not environment friendly. It has also failed to create policies that will help regulate the production of clean energy.

It is the unavailability of these policies and lack of stable electricity that has led most people to revert to unconventional and un- environment friendly sources of power e.g.  Generators. These methods contribute greatly to environmental pollution. It is also sad to note that the concerned bodies in implementing reforms are unable to downplay the Nigerian political issues and thus the confidence of investors will not be boosted to yield the expected efficiency.

Conclusion

Reliable provision of cheap and affordable electricity has the capacity to tackle both unemployment and poverty. It will also improve in production and manufacturing and enable Nigeria compete with other manufacturing companies internationally. It has a high pontential for clean energy sources and it could tackle emissions while tackling other problems such as employment. The power sector reform will greatly improve the stability of power supply and improve availability of investment capital.

References

Ahmed, A, Dalhat, B, & Josiah, M 2015, 'ELEaq1CTRICITY SECTOR RESTRUCTURING AND POWER SUPPLY RELIABILITY IN NIGERIA', Global Conference On Business & Finance Proceedings, 10, 1, pp. 492-499, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2015.

Ana, G, Luqman, Y, Shendell, D, & Owoaje, E 2014, 'Exposure to Electric Power Generator Noise Among Small Scale Business Operators in Selected Communities in Ibadan, Nigeria', Journal Of Environmental Health, 77, 4, pp. 28-34, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2015.

Aliyu, A., Ramli, A., Saleh, M. (2013). Nigeria electricity crisis: Power generation capacity expansion and environmental ramifications. Energy, 61(8), 354-367.

Bazilian, M, & Onyeji, I 2012, 'Viewpoint: Fossil fuel subsidy removal and inadequate public power supply: Implications for businesses', Energy Policy, 45, pp. 1-5, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2015.

Kaseke, N., Hosking, S. (2013). Sub-Saharan Africa Electricity Supply Inadequacy: Implications. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review 29(2), 113-132. Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from Project MUSE database

'Nigeria Loses 7,000mw of Electricity to Inadequate Gas Supply', 2014, Energy Monitor Worldwide (Amman, Jordan), 2014, General OneFile, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2015.

Ubani, O 2013, 'Determinants of the dynamics of electricity consumption in Nigeria', OPEC Energy Review, 37, 2, pp. 149-161, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 March 2015.