Power supply to Nigerians averages 4.9hrs daily —Report

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.