Rumours of a tariff increase began to swirl towards the close of 2022 but throughout the year, electricity customers witnessed noticeable improvement in major cities like Lagos and Abuja while renewable energy also saw some significant investments.
Here are eleven events that shaped Nigeria’s power and renewable energy sector
Geregu Power Plc listing
In October, Geregu Power Plc officially became the first electricity-generating company to be publicly listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The company, which was listed at N100 per share and N250 billion in market capitalisation, closed its first day of trading at N110 per share and N275 billion in market capitalisation.
Grid collapse
Nigeria’s power grid, a network of electrical transmission lines that connects several generating stations to loads spread across the nation, collapsed seven times in 2022.
Joy Ogaji, the executive secretary of the association of power generation companies (GenCos) blamed the intermittent national grid in the country on excessive volatile load mostly through steel mills and the weak Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) infrastructure, most of which are over 25 years old.
She also said the GenCos also cited instability and unavailability of most transmission lines as contributing to the grid collapse, which usually plunges the country into darkness.
Rise in renewable energy jobs
The Nigerian renewable energy sector created significant new jobs and was forecasted to exceed 76,000 next year, up from 32,000 in 2019, overtaking the oil and gas sector, according to a report by Power for All and Clean Technology Hub Nigeria.
The study shows Nigeria has built a strong market position in decentralized renewable energy (DRE) and is poised to reap the benefits as it addresses energy poverty and rural unemployment.
The DRE sector, which includes pico-solar appliances, solar home systems (SHS), and commercial and industrial (C&I) standalone systems, currently employs 50,000 people compared to 65,000 in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. The demand for DRE products in the country is expected to create more than 76,000 new jobs by 2023.
REA launches Africa Mini Grid Programme
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) launched the Africa Mini grid Programme (AMP), a four-year project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria, aimed at unlocking clean access across Nigeria.
Nigerian Breweries & CrossBoundary
Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) and CrossBoundary Energy announced the commencement of two renewable energy (solar and battery storage hybrid) projects for NB Plc Ibadan and Ama breweries in Oyo and Enugu States valued at $10 million. This is one of the largest renewable energy projects for a business in Nigeria, the brewing company said.
As part of this deal, CrossBoundary Energy will expand the current renewable energy system at NB’s Ibadan Brewery from a 663 kWp solar PV plant to a hybrid solar-plus-storage facility consisting of a 3 MWp solar PV system and a 2 MW/2 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). NB’s Ama brewery will receive a 4 MWp solar PV plant and a 2 MW/2 MWh BESS.
Shell signs deal with Daystar Power
Global energy giant, Shell made its first power sector acquisition in Africa with its acquisition of a major renewable energy provider in Nigeria, Daystar Power where Lagos-based private equity firm Verod Capital is a significant shareholder.
Shell, long known for its oil assets, seeks to build out a green energy business that will eventually reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and its purchase of Daystar Power which operates in Nigeria, Ghana and three other countries across west Africa, is a major push in that direction.
CrossBoundary signs deal with ENGIE Energy
CrossBoundary Energy Access Nigeria (CBEA) and ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria (ENGIE) signed a project finance agreement last to build a $60 million portfolio of mini-grids that will connect over 150,000 people to electricity in Nigeria over the next four years.
Read also: Energy Fund: How Nigeria can benefit – Analysts
FG signs deal with eight solar companies
In February 2022, the federal government signed a €9.3 million agreement with eight indigenous companies to provide 23 solar mini-grids across 11 states including Zamfara, Niger, Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Cross River.
The project, under the interconnected mini-grid acceleration scheme (IMAS), is expected to generate a 5.4-kilowatt peak to connect about 27,600 households and impact over 138,000 Nigerians in two years.
The eight local solar mini-grid developers are Acob Lighting Technology Limited, Gve Projects, Nayo Tropical Technology Limited, Rubitec Nigeria Limited, Darway Coast Nigeria Limited. Others include Havenhill Synergy Limited, Sosa-Protergia Joint Development Company Limited, and A4&T Power Solutions Limited.
FG, states agree on sale of power plants
The Federal Government and the 36 state governors agreed to sell five power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects and use the proceeds to fund the 2023 budget.
Parties in the deal reached the agreement in December after over two years of disputes and legal tussle as regards the sale of the NIPP plants being managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
The NDPHC, owned by the federal, state, and local government councils, is a power generation and distribution company that oversees the implementation of the NIPPs.
