Ali Bukar Ahmad, the General Manager of Regulation and Compliance at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), stated that out of an estimated population of 230 million, only 13,112,134 Nigerians are officially registered to use electricity.
Ahmad made this known on Thursday at the National Institute of Physics webinar Series 2.0.
The webinar series had the title: “Policy, Regulatory and Technical Constraints in Achieving Energy Security in Nigeria: The Way Forward”.
He pointed out that among the total of over 13 million customers, 44.23% have been provided with meters, and from the entire Nigerian population estimated at 230 million, merely 2.52% are metered.
He observed that 60% of customers with meters are bypassing them, which adds to the country’s energy poverty issues.
Further explaining the data, he highlighted the nation’s lack of energy resources and its energy insecurity.
According to him, energy security means having a consistent and affordable supply of energy, while energy poverty refers to the absence of a sufficient, quality, and uninterrupted energy supply, along with its associated services and products.
Furthermore, Ahmad pointed out that Nigeria’s energy vulnerability stems from several issues, including an over-reliance on gas, insufficient production capacity, and the unreliability and high cost of gas supply.
He noted that the signs of energy vulnerability include deteriorating and ineffective infrastructure, a lack of clear and accountable energy services, vandalism, and a shortage of political and financial resources to tackle these problems.