-0- PANA SEG
Lagos, Nigeria - Electricity demand in Nigeria is projected to rise to 15,730 Megawatts (MW) by 2015, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Prof. Abubakar Sambo, said in the capital city of Abuja Monday, quoting a study carried
out by the commission.
He said the anticipated demand shows a growth of 173.76 per cent over the 5,746MW demanded in 2010.
Prof. Sambo said by 2020, the total electricity demand in the country is expected to rise to 28,360MW, noting the implication is that unless investments in power infrastructure are increased, the nation will still not be able to meet its power needs in the nearest future, the private Punch newspaper reported Tuesday.
He said it was therefore imperative for the nation to start looking into other sources of energy to maintain and improve existing infrastructure and to eliminate constraints to modernisation and investment in new facilities.
Nigeria, with a population of around 160 million, currently has an electricity generating capacity of about 3,500MW, far inadequate to meet demand, thus causing regular blackouts.
The normally precarious power situation has worsened in recent times following the shutdown of the nation's premier hydro-electric power station, Kainji Dam, due to excessive water leakages.
The station, which was built in 1968 with an installed capacity for 760MW, was providing only 450MW before the shutdown due to years of non-maintenance.
In an effort to meet the rising electricity demand in the country, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has deregulated the generation and distribution of electricity.
By issuing the ''NERC Regulation on Embedded Generation 2012,” and the “NERC Regulation for Independent Electricity Distribution,” NERC has paved the way for states and local governments with enough financial capability to take advantage of the regulations to provide adequate power for their constituents.
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