Nigeria secures $500m World Bank loan for electricity sector
Nigeria has secured a $500-million World Bank loan for its electricity sector to boost power distribution, after last month's hike in tariffs for top consumers in Africa's most populous nation.
The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), the country's privatisation agency, on Thursday said the loan was approved by the World Bank in 2021 and included the government's borrowing plan this month after achieving some milestones.
The concessionary loan is aimed at improving the financial and technical performance of distribution companies, which have struggled to increase capacity more than a decade after Nigeria handed over its electricity sector to private companies.
Last month the electricity regulator increased tariffs for better off consumers who use the most power in Nigeria as the government aims to wean the economy off subsidies to ease pressure on public finances.
The World Bank has in the past recommended subsidy cuts to help Nigeria improve the state of its public finances.
Nigeria's electricity sector faces a myriad of problems including a failing grid, gas shortages, high debt and vandalism.
The country has 12 500 MW of installed capacity but produces only about a quarter of that, leaving many Nigerians reliant on expensive diesel-powered generators.
State-controlled power tariffs are too low to attract new investors and allow distribution firms to recoup costs and pay generating companies - leaving the sector with ballooning debt.
The country privatised its electricity sector in 2012, which had been seen as a major hurdle to growth, but funding constraint, gas shortages and challenges with its national grid has limited improvements following the sale.
Comments
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment (PTY) LTD has been designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining specialist...
VISIT SHOWROOM
ESAB South Arica, the leading supplier of high-end welding and cutting products to the Southern African industrial market is based in...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
