Nigeria has world’s largest electricity deficit – British envoy

The British Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Montgomery, on Wednesday lamented that the country has the largest electricity deficit in the world.

Montgomery, who spoke at a roundtable on the Electricity Act 2023, pointed out that Nigeria’s prosperity depends on the country getting its power sector right.

The two-day roundtable with the theme: “Implications and Opportunities for State Electricity Markets,” was organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and funded by the United Kingsdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.

Montgomery, who was represented at the roundtable by the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Gill Atkinson, urged Nigeria to find ways to connect the dots between the power sector and inclusive growth.

He said: “This is the time to explore new opportunities to scale up electricity delivery to more Nigerians.

“We need to give primacy to ways to promote expanded renewable integration, both on and off-grid.

“Nigeria gave fantastic commitments to COP26 and to the future of its power sector. This forum will help Nigeria to deliver those commitments.

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“We also need to find ways to connect the dots between the power sector and inclusive growth. Nigeria’s prosperity depends on getting the power sector right.”

The envoy said the power sector problem was affecting about 90 million people in the country and urged Nigerians to work with the government to address the challenge.

He added: “We have a new government here. It has embarked on important macroeconomic reforms. The exchange rate and the fuel subsidy are bringing short-term pain to the country and to the people of the country.

“These are positive changes in the medium to long term that will help Nigeria to fulfill its potential for the future.

“Part of this, and a particularly important moment, is Nigeria’s power sector. Unfortunately, the country has the world’s largest absolute electricity deficit.

“This affects 90 million people. Even those Nigerians who are connected to the grid face frequent outages and do not get reliable supply.”

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