Assessment of Off-Grid Power Plants in Nigeria: Location, Capacity, Performance and Current Status

Abstract

The power sector in Nigeria still struggles with significant electricity challenges resulting from the unavailability of power supply and the unreliability of the conventional national grid. The total installed capacity of off-grid plants in Nigeria is approximately a meagre 52 MW, with a combination of 67 operational mini-grids and solar home systems across the country impacting only about one million households and around five million residents out of Nigeria’s population of over 200 million people.  It has been reported that both urban and rural areas suffer the impact of power shortages and frequent blackouts. The unreliability of power supply in Nigeria has been identified as a significant problem affecting educational institutions in terms of productive learning, student residency and institutional operations, and also the overall operation of healthcare facilities as it limits access to quality healthcare services. The study examines the presence and potential of off-grid power solutions in Nigeria which present a more reliable approach to supplying electricity to users, as a deliberate response to the multiple and complex challenges in the Nigerian power systems to identify the present location, installed capacity, operational performance, and current status of off-grid power plants in Nigeria. The Geographic Information System and statistical approaches were employed. It was discovered that off-grid solutions are beginning to spread across the country on different scales. However, most rural areas in Nigeria still do not have access to electricity supply. The study encourages decentralized power generation in the country and emphasizes the need for the federal government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to consider investing in off-grid solutions, particularly in the rural areas for socio-economic benefits.