The World Bank has approved $500m to help boost access to
electricity in Nigeria and improve the performance of the electricity
distribution companies in the country.
In a statement issued on Friday titled, ‘Nigeria to Improve
Electricity Access and Services to Citizens,’ the World Bank said financial
support would be provided to private distribution companies only on achievement
of results in terms of access connections, improved financial management and
network expansion.
The statement said, “85 million Nigerians don’t have access
to grid electricity. This represents 43% per cent of the country’s population
and makes Nigeria the country with the largest energy access deficit in the
world. The lack of reliable power is a significant constraint for citizens and
businesses, resulting on annual economic losses estimated at $26.2 billion (₦10.1
trillion) which is equivalent to about two per cent of GDP. According to the
2020 World Bank Doing Business report, Nigeria ranks 171 out of 190 countries
in getting electricity and electricity access is seen as one of the major
constraints for the private sector.”
The statement quoted World Bank Country Director, Shubham
Chaudhuri as saying, “Improving access and reliability of power is key to
reduce poverty and unlocking economic growth in the aftermath of the global
COVID-19 pandemic.
“The operation will help improve the financial viability of
the DISCOs and increase revenues for the whole Nigerian power sector, which is
critical to save scarce fiscal resources and create jobs by increasing the
productivity of private and public enterprises”.
The statement continued, “The Nigeria Distribution Sector
Recovery Program (DISREP) will help improve service quality, as well as the
financial and technical performance of distribution companies by providing
financing based on performance and reduction of losses. This project
complements the support provided under the Power Sector Recovery Operation
(PSRO) approved in June 2020. Specifically, it will ensure that distribution
companies make necessary investments to rehabilitate networks, install electric
meters for more accurate customer billing and to improve quality of service for
those already connected to the grid. It will also help strengthen the financial
and technical management of DISCOs to improve the transparency and
accountability of the distribution sector.”
According to the World Bank task team leader for the
project, Nataliya Kulichenko, “The program will only be eligible to those
DISCOs that transparently declare their performance reports to public with the
actual flow of funds based on strict verification of achieved performance
targets by an independent third party. The program would also make meters
available at affordable prices to all consumers in Nigeria, a long pending
demand of Nigerians.”
The statement added that “the program will reduce the CO2
emissions of the Nigerian power sector by reducing technical losses, increasing
energy efficiency, replacing diesel and biomass with grid-electricity, and
investing more in on- and off-grid renewable energy. DISREP supports the
development of regulatory guidance on climate-resilient infrastructure and
facilitates the inclusion of climate risks in decision making.”
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