Abuja, Nigeria. 15th October 2019 – The new Power Poll result released by NOIPolls for Q3, 2019 has revealed that 36 percent of Nigerians say they experienced a slight improvement in electricity supply in their respective localities when compared to Q2, 2019. This represents a 5 percent increase when compared to 31 percent obtained in Q2, 2019. This marginal increase in the power supply may be attributed to the raining season as the water level in the hydroelectric power generation increased to expected levels within the period in view. Additionally, Q3 2019 monthly trend analysis shows that electricity supply improved the most in August as stated by 39 percent of Nigerians.
Similarly, the poll further revealed that the quarterly cumulative hours of power supply in a day increased from 9.2 hours in Q2, 2019 to 9.6 hours in Q3, 2019. This signifies an increase of 0.4 cumulative hours of the power supply when current results are compared with the Q2, 2019 findings. Also, month to month assessment indicates that the month of August 2019 had a larger share of a cumulative hour of electricity supply in the country at 9.8 hours per day.
This 9.6 average quarterly cumulative hour of electricity supply for Q3, 2019 is still a considerable far cry from the 24 hours of power supply required for the overall development of the country and its citizens; as on the average, Nigerians say they have electricity supply only for about 40 per cent of the time in a day. NOIPolls therefore, strongly advise that stakeholders in the electricity sectors should do all it can to ensure that electricity supply in the country is greatly improved by increasing electrification programmes and generation as electricity use and economic development tend to go hand-in-hand.
Nationwide Quarterly Tracking on Power Supply
Quarterly analysis of results revealed that 36 percent of Nigerians reported that they experienced improvement in power supply in their households in Q3, 2019. This represents a 5 percent increase in the proportion of Nigerians who said the experienced better power supply when current findings are compared to the result obtained in Q2, 2019.
Nationwide Monthly Tracking on Power Supply
Subsequently, a monthly analysis of power supply to Nigerian households in Q3, 2019 revealed an increase in the proportion of Nigerians who experienced an improvement in July (38 percent) and August (39 percent). However, it experienced a 7 percent decline to stand at 32 percent in September 2019.
Nationwide Quarterly Average Cumulative Power Supply to Nigerian Households
Further findings showed that the quarterly average cumulative hours of power supply per day in Q3, 2019 stood at 9.6 hours.
Nationwide Monthly Average Cumulative Power Supply to Nigerian Household
The monthly analysis revealed that the month of August (9.8 hours) recorded the highest daily cumulative hours of power supply to Nigerian households in Q3, 2019. However, analysis from the beginning of the year shows that the month of January had the highest average monthly cumulative hours of power supply to Nigerian households which stood at 10.2 hours.
In conclusion, the poll has shown that electricity supply to Nigerian households experienced an improvement in Q3, 2019 as reported by 36 percent of Nigerians interviewed. Additionally, findings from the poll indicated that the cumulative hourly power supply increased to 9.6 hours in Q3, 2019. Despite this increase, it is still a far cry from the 24 hours power supply that is required to meet the power need in the country. Government and other stakeholders in the electricity sector must do more to increase electricity generation in order to meet the power requirement. There is a need to explore other means of power generation which will help boost the power needs in the country. For instance, stakeholders in this sector need to invest in solar, geothermal, wind and even ethanol etc. which will help meet the power requirement in the country.
Finally, it must be stated that over-reliance on hydro-electric power generation may not have paid off as expected, hence the need to diversify to other forms of power generation. This will indeed help achieve the power need and ultimately boost the economy of the country as the growth of the economy relies heavily on the optimum power supply.
