Showing posts with label Electricity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electricity. Show all posts

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Nigeria suffers power outage after grid failure, power companies say

Nigeria suffered a widespread electricity blackout after its national grid collapsed on Wednesday, the country's power distribution companies said.

Nigeria's grid is prone to failure and has this year suffered partial or total collapse at least 10 times, mainly due to faults and vandalism at power installations.

Distribution companies across Nigeria, also known as Discos, said in separate statements that the grid had failed at around 1233 GMT and they hoped electricity would be restored soon.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria showed electricity generation plunged from 3,087 megawatt before the grid collapse, to zero as of 1400 GMT. 

Reuters 

Related story: Video - Power shortages, rising fuel costs accelerate shift to solar in Nigeria

 


Friday, November 8, 2024

Video - Power shortages, rising fuel costs accelerate shift to solar in Nigeria



Many small businesses now rely on solar for their energy needs after public electricity costs surged. Solar companies are easing adoption by offering installment payment options, making it more accessible.

CGTN

Related story: Peter Obi Urges FG To Resolve Power Crisis Challenges

 

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Peter Obi Urges FG To Resolve Power Crisis Challenges

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has called on the federal government to proffer lasting solutions to the power crisis in the country.


Obi made the call on his X handle while raising concerns about the ongoing power crisis following another collapse of the national grid.

The call came after Nigerians were plunged into a fresh round of darkness following another collapse of the national power grid.

Since January 2024 till date, the grid has collapsed 10 times, and three times in October alone.

Speaking on the issue via a statement on Wednesday via X, Obi contrasted Nigeria’s struggles with power supply to South Africa’s recent success in achieving seven months of uninterrupted electricity.

He said, “Again, yesterday the now regular news came that the National Grid had collapsed once again. Just a few days ago, on the 25th of October, South Africa that was the second-largest economy in Africa behind Nigeria until recently, with a quarter of our population, celebrated seven months of uninterrupted power supply.

“South Africa generates and distributes about 40,000 MW of electricity, while Nigeria struggles to generate and distribute just 10% of that.”

“Is there any tribe in Nigeria that enjoys uninterrupted power supply like South Africa? I am labelled a tribal bigot. When I ask if any religion enjoys special privileges in this crisis, I am called a religious bigot. But I will continue to speak the truth about our situation today,” he said.

“The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure,” he said.

Obi urged Nigerians to move past “primordial sentiments” and instead focus on electing leaders who can drive the country towards development.

He said, “The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure. The solution lies not in tribal or religious affiliations but in visionary leadership and a shared commitment to progress.

“We must set aside these primordial sentiments and elect leaders who are competent, capable, and have the vision to transform our nation from a consumer-driven economy to a productive one by investing our meagre resources in critical areas of development like health and education, lifting our people out of poverty, and ensuring increased electricity production and distribution.”

Channels

Related story: Nigeria's power grid partially collapses again, causing blackouts

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Nigeria's power grid partially collapses again, causing blackouts

Nigeria's national grid suffered a partial collapse on Tuesday, the state power transmitter said, marking the ninth incident this year to have caused power outages across the country.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the grid experienced a disturbance at around 1252 GMT, triggered by a series of line and generator trips destabilising the system.

While some regions, including the capital Abuja, regained power about an hour after the collapse, outages continued elsewhere.

"TCN engineers are already working to quickly restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the partial disturbance," spokesperson Ndidi Mbah said.

Blackouts are frequent in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with over 200 million people, due to ageing power infrastructure, vandalism and inadequate gas supply for its thermal plants, which account for over 75% of output.

Although Nigeria has the infrastructure to generate about 13,000 megawatts of power, its creaking grid can only distribute a third of it, forcing businesses and households to run costly fuel generators. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters 

Related story: Nigeria's state transmission company restoring power after grid collapse

 

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Nigeria's state transmission company restoring power after grid collapse

The Transmission Company of Nigeria says it is working to restore power after blackouts engulfed the country following another collapse of the power grid on Monday night.

Power generation fell to zero and by Tuesday morning some plants in the capital Abuja and parts of the commercial city were coming online. Daily average supply has hovered around 4,500 megawatts in recent times until the sixth collapse this year.

Nigeria's grid has shut down due to aging power infrastructure, vandalism and inadequate gas supply for its thermal plants which accounts for over 75% of output. 

Reuters

Related story: Millions in Nigeria have little to no electricity. It’s straining businesses and public services

 

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Millions in Nigeria have little to no electricity. It’s straining businesses and public services

Dimly lit and stuffy classrooms stir with life every morning as children file in. Rays of sunlight stream through wooden windows, the only source of light. Pupils squint at their books and intermittently the blackboard as teachers try to hold their attention.

It’s a reality for many schoolchildren across Nigeria, where many buildings don’t have access to the national electricity grid. In Excellent Moral School in Olodo Okin in Ibadan, “the entire community is not connected, including the school,” said school founder Muyideen Raji. It acutely affects pupils, he said, who can’t learn how to use computers or the Internet and can’t study in the evenings.

About half of Nigeria’s more than 200 million people are hooked up to a national electricity grid that can’t provide sufficient daily electricity to most of those connected. Many poor, rural communities like Olodo Okin are off the grid entirely.

In a country with abundant sunshine, many are looking to solar energy to help fill the gaps, but getting risk-averse investors to finance major solar projects that would give Nigeria enough reliable energy is an uphill struggle. It means that millions in the country are finding ways to live with little to no electricity.
 

Lots of sun, few funds

Studies have shown that Nigeria could generate much more electricity than it needs from solar energy thanks to its powerful sunshine. But 14 grid-scale solar projects in the northern and central parts of the country that could generate 1,125 megawatts of electricity have stalled since contracts were signed in 2016.

Those trying to develop solar projects in the country blame interest rates for borrowing which can be as high as 15 percent, two to three times higher than in advanced economies and China, according to the International Energy Agency.

That means it’s more costly for solar companies to work in Nigeria or other developing nations than in rich countries. Africa only has one-fifth the solar power capacity of Germany, and just 2% of global clean energy investments go to the continent.

“The same project put up in Nigeria and Denmark; the Danish project will get funding for 2 to 3 percent” interest rate, said Najim Animashaun, director of Nova Power, one of the stalled solar projects. Meanwhile he struggles to get loans even with interest rates of 10 percent or higher, “even though my solar project can produce two and half times more power,” than a Danish one.

Nigeria also does not set so-called cost-reflective tariffs, meaning the price consumers pay for electricity doesn’t cover the costs to produce and distribute it. This means distribution companies can’t fully pay producers and the industry relies on government interventions to stay afloat, scaring off lenders from investing in the solar industry.

Currently, power producers say they are owed up to 3.7 trillion Naira ($2.7 billion) by the government, making it difficult to meet obligations to their lenders and contractors.

One option would be getting World Bank guarantees that would put investors at ease and make them more willing to put money into solar projects. But the government is wary of signing up to anything that would force them to pay large sums even if electricity from the projects does not get to consumers because of inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Without World Bank guarantees “nobody will develop or finance a project with a government subsidy, because it can dry off,” said Edu Okeke, the managing director of Azura Power. Azura Power has a stake in the now-stalled 100 megawatt Nova solar project in Nigeria’s northern Katsina State.
 

Stop-gap solutions

With less than 8,000 megawatts of capacity and an average supply of less than 4,000 megawatts — less than half of what Singapore supplies to just 5.6 million people — power outages are an everyday occurrence in Nigeria.

Communities like Excellent Moral School’s in Ibadan that have no access to electricity are often surrounded by more fortunate ones that are connected to the grid but experience frequent outages and have to use gasoline and diesel-run private generators.

With the long-running petroleum subsidies now removed, many households, schools, hospitals and businesses struggle with the cost of the fuel for their backup generators.

“We have stopped using a diesel generator as an alternative due to costs,” said Abdulhakeem Adedoja, the head of Lorat Nursery and Primary School in Ibadan. He added that although the school is in an Ibadan area that is connected to the grid, they could go two weeks without a power supply.

The problem is not just the lack of electricity for computer-aided learning, proper lighting, and fans to make classes less stuffy for pupils and teachers, but also that students are unable to complete their school assignments at home, Adedoja said.

For more energy-hungry small businesses like restaurants, they either close shop or continue with alternative power generation, incurring high costs that hurt their capacity for expansion.

Ebunola Akinwale, the owner of Nature’s Treat Cafe in Ibadan, said she pays 2.5 million Naira ($1,700) monthly to power backup generators in her four branches.

“If nothing changes, I probably would have to close one or two branches,” she said, though she is planning to go solar which she enthuses will help us cut “pollution from the diesel (generators).” She’s in talks with her bank for a low-cost loan package specially designed for young women entrepreneurs to finance the solar alternative.

However, not every business and household has such access or can afford the upfront capital for a private solar system. School heads Raji and Adedoja said they find the costs prohibitive.
 

Finding a way forward

The stalled solar projects aren’t happening as finances don’t add up, but even for other sources of electricity generation, Nigeria struggles to attract desperately needed private financing.

The power minister, Adebayo Adelabu, said in May that in order to address the financial crisis affecting the electricity sector, prices must reflect the true costs of service because a broke “government cannot afford to pay 3 trillion Naira ($2.4 billion) in subsidy.”

The government also insists that Nigerians paying fully for the electricity they consume would encourage investments in the sector.

There has been some pushback to that, as labor unions went on strike in early June in part to protest electricity tariff increases.

But businesspeople like Akinwale understand the government’s position because regularly supplied grid electricity, even without a subsidy, is “still cheaper and cleaner” than diesel for generators, she said.

If finances for grid-scale solar projects do not add up, the government should offer incentives such as tax relief and payment plans to encourage private solar adoption, Akinwale said. “Sunlight is there abundantly,” she said.

Former regulatory chief Sam Amadi doubts if consumers in Nigeria — where the minimum wage is 30,000 Naira ($20) a month — “can today pay for energy consumed without subsidy.” He also wants a policy that makes it more affordable to have smaller-scale solar projects dotted across communities, businesses and homes.

Until then, there are consequences to the frequent blackouts, he said.

“I have the story of a person who died in hospital because the electricity went out during operation,” he said. “Every day, we see the real-world effects of the lack of electricity.”

By Taiwo Adebayo, AP

Related stories: Generator fumes choke students to death in Nigeria

Video - Nigeria cuts back on electricity sales to neighboring countries

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Generator fumes choke students to death in Nigeria

At least seven university students have died after apparently inhaling fumes from a generator in a music studio in Nigeria's oil-rich Bayelsa state.

The young men are said to have worked late into Monday night and fell asleep in the locked studio with the generator still running.

They are suspected to have suffocated from carbon monoxide emissions but police say investigations are ongoing.

Many businesses and households in Nigeria rely on diesel- or petrol-powered generators because of inadequate power supply.

Six bodies were discovered on Tuesday morning, while one of them, who was found unconscious, was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died, local media reported.

Residents of the area raised the alarm when they peeped through the window of the studio and saw the bodies sprawled on the floor.

Police arrived and cordoned off the area after moving out the bodies in the Amarata area of Yenagoa - the Bayelsa state capital.

“Investigations are being carried out but based on what we have seen, carbon monoxide poisoning due to generator fumes is a possible cause,” police spokesperson Musa Mohammed told the BBC.

The victims were undergraduates from the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) in Amassoma, who were involved in the music recording business to support their education.

This is not the first time generator fumes have killed people in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer.

In 2009, at least 13 family members, including four children, died after inhaling noxious fumes from their power generator while they slept in a remote village in south-eastern Imo state.

Nigerians rely on backup generators to cover about 40% of their electricity needs, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Grid power supplies are often erratic in Nigeria, despite its role as a major oil and gas producer.

President Bola Tinubu recently ordered all government agencies to purchase only vehicles and generators powered by natural gas as part of the country's efforts to transition to cleaner energy and cut high fuel costs.

By Mansur Abubakar & Wycliffe Muia, BBC

 

Monday, May 20, 2024

Video - Nigeria cuts back on electricity sales to neighboring countries



The move is designed to boost domestic supply for Nigerians. Nigeria exports a chunk of the power it generates to its neighbors, despite not having a stable electricity supply for customers at home.

CGTN

Related story: Video - Concerns over electricity rate hike in Nigeria

 

Friday, April 26, 2024

Taxi system fueled by electric vehicles in Nigeria



As climate change wreaks havoc around the world, the need for sustainable solutions grows more urgent. In Nigeria, a private company recently introduced an Uber-style taxi system made of approximately 200 electric vehicles. The company says the fleet is a step toward a greener future. Gibson Emeka reports from Abuja, Nigeria. Amy Reifenrath narrates.

By Gibson Emeka, VOA 

Related story: The eco-entrepreneur sparking the electric vehicle revolution in Nigeria

 

 

Monday, April 15, 2024

Video - Concerns over electricity rate hike in Nigeria



An increase in electricity prices by nearly three times has sparked a backlash in Nigeria. The decision to remove electricity subsidies is part of President Bola Tinubu's reform drive to ease pressure on the economy as the government targets up to 2.6 billion U.S. dollars from the subsidy removal.

CGTN

Related stories: Consumers in Nigeria upset at electricity rate hike

Nigeria to cut electricity subsidy to ease pressure on public finances

 

 

Thursday, April 11, 2024

Consumers in Nigeria upset at electricity rate hike

A sudden hike in electricity rates in Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, has sparked a backlash.

Until now, Jude Okafor has spent an average $25 on electricity to run a frozen fish and meat business that he started in 2021. But since last week, when the government announced a rate hike of nearly 300 percent for electricity, Okafor says running his business has been tough.

"There is no escape. Light has gone high, fuel has gone high. And for a businessman, there's no way we can cope with that,” Okafor said. “If there's no light or fuel to ice our fish, what are we going to do? Our business is running down. This is [a] first-class act of wickedness."

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced the price change last Wednesday and said only its bigger power consumers, about 15 percent overall, would be affected by the subsidy cut.

Authorities said consumers in that category enjoy up to 20 hours of electricity a day and that the rate hike was only fair to customers who receive fewer hours of light.

The decision to remove electricity subsidies is part of President Bola Tinubu's reform drives to ease pressure on the economy.

Authorities argue that state-controlled electricity rates are too low to attract new investors or allow distribution firms to recover their costs, leaving the sector with huge debts.

Economic analyst Ogho Okiti says the government’s move is a good one.

"The government is not able to pay those subsidies on time, and because they're not able to [pay] them on time, gas companies are withdrawing their gas supplies,” Okiti said. “The timing is right. I think the government had waited till April to do this because they expect power supply to improve from now because of [the] rainy season."

But the decision is being criticized by many, including businesses, manufacturers and workers' unions.

This week, the Abuja chapter of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, or NACCIMA, said the decision would threaten the survival of many thousands of businesses already struggling to cope with soaring inflation.

"First of all, the timing is wrong,” said Dele Oye, national president of the NACCIMA. “We all know that electricity is underpriced, but to some extent, there must be some level of subsidy. There's nowhere in the world where there's no subsidy. We cannot compete if we have to pay everything at market value when we don’t see market value service from the government. We do our roads. We do our security as investors."

Nigeria last revised electricity rates four years ago. Authorities say the country could save up to $2.6 billion from the subsidy removal.

But a similar reform applied on petrol last year worsened a cost-of-living crisis for many Nigerians after the annual rate of inflation rose to more than 30 percent — its highest level in three decades.

Critics will be watching to see how this newest subsidy removal unfolds.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA

Related stories: Nigeria to cut electricity subsidy to ease pressure on public finances

Nigeria thrown into darkness as power grid collapses

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Nigeria to cut electricity subsidy to ease pressure on public finances

Nigeria plans to axe an electricity subsidy for 15% of consumers to reduce its 3.3 trillion naira ($2.6 billion) cost, part of a series of reforms to ease pressure on public finances, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said on Tuesday.

Onanuga said the government was under pressure to allow a price increase in the electricity sector as it only budgeted 450 billion naira for the subsidy this year.

He did not say when the tariff increase would come into effect, but said that when it did the government expected to save close to 1.1 trillion naira per year.

Nigeria last reviewed electricity tariffs in 2020, Onanuga said, adding the proposed increase would help businesses recover costs and boost investment.

"With the huge subsidy burden and high cost of gas ... the current electricity tariff is not realistic," he said.
President Bola Tinubu embarked on Nigeria's boldest reforms in decades last year after he scrapped a popular but costly fuel subsidy and allowed the currency to devalue sharply.

The reforms Tinubu hopes will revive growth in Africa's biggest economy have stoked inflation to more than 30% and worsened a cost of living crisis, angering workers.

Onanuga said only 15% of consumers, accounting for 40% of electricity consumption, would be affected.
Nigeria's power sector faces a myriad of problems including a failing grid, gas shortages, high debt and vandalism. The country has 12,500 megawatts of installed capacity but produces only about a quarter of that, leaving many reliant on expensive diesel-powered generators.

Also, state-controlled power tariffs are too low to allow distribution companies to recoup costs and pay generating companies - leaving the sector with ballooning debts.

Onanuga said the government would consider helping generating companies to offset around 1.5 trillion naira of debt owed to the country's bulk electricity purchaser.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Related stories: Nigeria thrown into darkness as power grid collapses

Video - Nigeria SMEs turn to alternative energy sources to address chronic power crisis

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nigeria thrown into darkness as power grid collapses

Nigeria was thrown into darkness on Thursday afternoon following the collapse of the electricity grid controlled from Osogbo, Osun State, around 4:32 p.m.

A source in one of the distribution companies (DisCo) said the feeders for most DisCos nationwide were out of supply.

The development, the source added, has left virtually all franchise areas for DisCos across the 36 states in darkness.

According to the source, as of 4p.m, the grid output was 2984 megawatts. But by 5 p.m., the 21 plants on the grid had zero output.

In February, a grid collapse also left the nation in darkness.

A last check with the source when filing this report revealed that Azura was the only plant on the grid with an output capacity of about 54 megawatts.

Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among other plants, all had zero output.

In November 2013, the federal government privatised all generation and 11 distribution companies, with the FG retaining the ownership of the transmission company. This was to improve efficiency in the sector.

However, since privatisation, the grid has collapsed more than 140 times.

By Olawunmi Ojo, Premium Times

Related stories: Video - Nigeria SMEs turn to alternative energy sources to address chronic power crisis

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

 

 

 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Video - Nigeria SMEs turn to alternative energy sources to address chronic power crisis



One such small business owner operates a hotel in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. He says he lost a lot of business due to electricity issues. But an investment of 1,000 U.S. dollars in converting his electrical system to solar power is helping to lure customers back.

CGTN

Related stories: Sovereign fund of Nigeria to pilot development of 20 megawatts solar plant

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

Fifth electricity transmission line vandalised in one month in Nigeria

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Sovereign fund of Nigeria to pilot development of 20 megawatts solar plant

Nigeria's sovereign fund plans to build a 20 megawatts solar power plant in partnership with a local firm, first phase of a 300 megawatts project, the country's Vice President Kashim Shettima said on Tuesday.

Shettima did not disclose the cost of the project or when construction will start.

Nigeria, with a population of more than 200 million people, has installed power generation capacity of 12,500 megawatts (MW) but produces a fraction of that, leaving millions of households and businesses reliant on petrol and diesel generators.

The vice president said on Tuesday in Abuja at the signing of the joint venture between the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and North South Power (NSP) Company Ltd for the establishment of the Shiroro Generating Company, the country's pioneer on-grid solar-hydro hybrid project.

The Shiroro Generating Company is hybrid project is located in Shiroro, in Nigeria's northwest of Niger state.

Shettima said the 20 megawatt pilot project is embedded within a 300 megawatt solar programme, to be co-located within NSP's existing 600 megawatt Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Plant concession area in Shiroro, Niger State.

"As a nation, our resolve is to take proactive steps to diversify our energy sources, reduce our carbon footprints and ensure a more sustainable future for generations to come," the vice president said in a statement.

"This project will catalyze the realization of other hydro-solar projects and serve as a test case for deployment of solar energy on to the national grid." 

Reuters

Related stories: Fifth electricity transmission line vandalised in one month in Nigeria

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

 

 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Fifth electricity transmission line vandalised in one month in Nigeria

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), says one of its critical infrastructure, the Shiroro-Katampe 330 Kilo Volt (kV) transmission line has been vandalised.

TCN’ s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

According to Ms Mbah, this is the fifth of such incident between February and March.

Ms Mbah said that at approximately 9 a.m. on Sunday, the Shiroro-Katampe transmission line experienced a trip.
She said that following initial investigations, TCN engineers attempted to restore operation but were unsuccessful.

”Subsequently, efforts were made to identify the fault location. Hence, linesmen were dispatched to physically patrol the suspected area.

”During the fault tracing process, the vigilante team leaders in the vicinity notified TCN linesmen of vandalism along the transmission line.

” The company’s personnel confirmed the vandalisation of the transmission line 1, from Towers 244 to 245, and the conductors stolen,” she said.

According to her, the company is currently mobilising for conductor replacement, pending the completion of security operations at the site.

“The second line remains fully operational, in conjunction with the Gwagwalada 330kV line serving the Kukwaba-Apo axis.”

She said that the wheeling capacity of TCN towards Abuja and environs would be enhanced by the Lokoja – Gwagwalada 330kV transmission line.

”The company is working hard to minimise the adverse effect of these acts of sabotage on bulk power supply to Abuja and environs.

”This incident adds to a series of vandalism incidents recorded by TCN in February, including the destruction of Tower 70 along the Gwagwalade-Katampe transmission line on Feb. 26.

"Other incidents include the vandalisation of towers 377 and 378 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV transmission line on Feb. 23,” she said.

Ms Mbah said that there was also an attack on towers 145 to 149 and 201 to 218 along the Owerri-Ahoda 132kV transmission line on 15 February.

She said that on 1 February, Tower 388 along the Jos-Bauchi 132kV single circuit transmission line also collapsed due to vandalism.

According to Ms Mbah, these acts of sabotage are unacceptable. She urged relevant security agencies and host communities to collaborate in apprehending the perpetrators.

"Protection of the nation’s transmission infrastructure is paramount, and collective efforts are required to curb these incidents.

"The company calls on all Nigerians to assist in reporting such acts of vandalism. Electricity infrastructure is a national asset, and safeguarding it is a collective responsibility,” she said.

Premium Times

Related story: Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

The eco-entrepreneur sparking the electric vehicle revolution in Nigeria

Mustapha Gajibo is driving change in Nigeria with his groundbreaking company, African Motor Works. The entrepreneur is transforming Nigeria's transportation sector while focusing on affordability and sustainability.


"Our main reasons for building electric vehicles are the high cost of mobility, cost of energy and carbon emissions," Mustapha Gajibo, Founder and CEO of African Motor Works, tells SCENES.

The young business owner's interest in electrifying Nigeria's transport options was sparked by the constant problems with the country's electricity supply.

"We spent weeks, sometimes months, even up to a year without electricity. So that has really motivated me to come up with this company," explains Mustapha.

The start-up company manufactures 200 vehicles monthly and produces mass transit vehicles such as large buses, minibuses and tricycles. Each vehicle has a simple battery-swapping system and can be fully charged in less than 40 minutes.

African Motor Works employs 24 workers and plans to expand its workforce. According to the electric vehicle creator, building a solid team is the key to his company's success.

"I don't call them staff. I call them family. Whatever glory we achieve, we achieve together," says Mustapha.

The reputation of African Motor Works is gaining momentum in Nigeria, and Mustafa hopes his venture will inspire other manufacturers across Africa. He dreams of one day seeing his African vehicles driving through the streets of New York, Beijing and other cities worldwide.

By Gregory Ward & Hillary Ebele Nnoruka, EuroNews

Related story: Video - Nigerian engineering students build electric car

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Video - Nigeria suffers from most power cuts in the world



The latest report by the International Energy Agency ranked Nigeria first in the world for the most power cuts. The country has for years struggled with challenges in its electricity sector due to limited grid infrastructure and underinvestment which has hindered economic development.

CGTN 

Related stories: Video - Nigeria grapples with higher electricity prices amid supply constraints

Power being restored to Nigeria after nationwide blackouts

Government in Nigeria struggling to end perennial electricity challenge

 

 

 

Friday, January 26, 2024

Nigerian company begins operating $1.3 billion Chinese-funded power plant

LAGOS, Jan 25 - Nigeria's Mainstream Energy, which already runs two of the country's biggest hydroelectric plants, has begun operating a new Chinese-funded facility, nearly a year after winning the concession, the utility said on Thursday.

Mainstream Energy Solution Ltd said its subsidiary Penstock Energy Ltd is running the new 700 megawatts plant in Zungeru, central Nigeria, which has been built with a $1.3 billion loan from China.

Nigeria's privatisation agency, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), last February awarded the concession to Mainstream Energy, which will pay the Nigerian government $70 million annually over three decades to operate the plant.

"This is where the real work starts in ensuring that the asset is managed in accordance with international standards," Mainstream Energy CEO Audu Lamu, said in a statement on Thursday.

Over the last decade, China has been active in Nigeria, providing finance through its development bank to build infrastructure including rail, airports, and power generation plants.

The Mainstream Energy-run Kainji and Jebba hydroelectric plants have a combined output of 1,338 megawatts which accounts for about 33% of Nigeria's current 4,000 megawatts power generation.

Much more is needed as millions of households and businesses suffer frequent blackouts. 

By Isaac Anyaogu, Reuters

Related stories: Video - Nigeria grapples with higher electricity prices amid supply constraints

Nigeria to sell power distribution firm over $130 million debt