Electricity supply to Nigerians averages 4.9hrs daily —Report

Firstclass newsline gathered that the average daily cumulative power
supply received by consumers in the second quarter of 2015 stood at
4.9 hours, according to a new report released by NOIPolls Limited.
The report revealed that the average cumulative power supply received
by Nigerian households within a 27-month period (April, 2013 to June,
2015) was below six hours per day.
It said implication of this indicated that individuals were relying
and spending more on alternative sources of power to ensure efficiency
in the running of their homes and businesses.
Findings revealed that from the second quarter of 2013 to that of
2015, the majority of Nigerian households received one to four hours
of cumulative power supply, this proportion of Nigerians was highest
in Q2 2014 (47 per cent) and lowest in the third quarter of 2014 (29
per cent), the report said.
"An average of 17 per cent of Nigerian households did not receive any
electricity from the Discos, and this proportion of Nigerians
witnessed an all-time high of 21 per cent in the fourth quarter of
2014, quickly followed by the third quarter of 2014, with 20 per
cent."
The results further revealed that the highest average daily cumulative
power supply Nigerian households received within the same period in
view was 8.2 hours per day.
"In addition, a comparison of Q2 2013, Q2 2014 and Q2 2015 shows a
visible regressive trend as daily cumulative hours of power supply
dropped from 6.4 to 5.7 and to 3.9 respectively, despite the billions
of naira invested in resuscitating the sector," said NOIPolls.
According to the report, the number of respondents who received 19 to
24 hours of light had remained almost the same, going from five per
cent in Q2 2013 to eight per cent in Q3 2014 and back to five per cent
in Q2 2015."
The report stated that even in the face of the ongoing reforms in the
power sector, Nigerians were still suffering major blackouts all over
the nation as daily cumulative direct power supply kept dropping.
"The average cumulative hours of power supply to Nigerians amounted to
4.9 hours in Q2 2015; this figure represents the lowest quarterly
average cumulative hours of power supply received by Nigerians," it
said.
On the other hand, the highest average cumulative hours of power
supply received by Nigerians from Q2 2013 to Q2 2015 was recorded at
7.1 hours.
NOIPolls said a direct effect of the poor power supply could be seen
in the massive number of Nigerians (77.5 per cent) who had resorted to
purchasing and using alternative sources of power (such as generators,
inverters, and solar panels) for residential and business purposes.
"This has also created an additional strain on the finances of these
households as these alternative sources are usually more expensive to
maintain as opposed to direct power supply from Discos."
Moreover, findings from previous NOIPolls power reports have shown
that Nigerians typically spend between 3,302 – 3,726 on actual
electricity supply while spending between 7,866 – 12,351 in running
alternative sources of power supply within a 15-month period from
(April 2014 to June 2015), according to the latest report.
"Despite the attempted reforms of the power sector by the Federal
Government, Nigeria has not been able to generate more than 4,500
megawatts of electricity for over 170 million people.
Firstclassnewsline.net