Nigeria’s electricity generation has continued to hover around an average of 4,500 megawatts despite the country securing loans totalling over $3.23 billion in about four years from international financial institutions.
Global institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have supported the Nigerian power sector with billions of dollars in loans, but many parts of Nigeria still suffer incessant blackouts.
These funds were approved to finance various projects to address the electricity challenges and improve access to reliable power supply.
However, power generation in the country has persistently hovered around 4,500MW for a population of over 200 million people.
According to the daily power report obtained by Punch newspaper, peak power generation reached 4,743MW as of 6 am on Thursday.
The report said that the average power generation in the past three years had remained at 4,500MW despite efforts by the government.
The report also recalled that since 2020, the World Bank has approved multiple loans to Nigeria’s power sector, focusing on sustainable energy solutions, distribution system upgrades, and overall sector reform.
The Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project, with a principal amount of $500m, was signed in September 2024 to enhance energy reliability and agricultural productivity.
In December 2023, the World Bank signed agreements for the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up Project, totalling $750m across three International Development Association credits.
And on July 31, 2024, the African Development Bank Group approved a loan of $500m to the Federal Republic of Nigeria to help transform the country’s electricity infrastructure and improve access to cleaner energy sources.
GIK/APA