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Power Supply And Use In Gyel District Jos
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Power
supply is very important to the social, economic and technological
development of any nation. All aspects of the life of the citizenry is
affected by power supply, ranging from keeping a clean home to running
multinational companies. Without adequate power supply, businesses,
homes and the society at large cannot function to their full capacity.
One of the key indices for measuring the development status of any
country is the state of power supply. This is because the power sector
is the real engine that drives a nation’s economic growth and
development. Indeed, the role which reliable and sustainable power
supply plays in the socio- economic development and technological
advancement of a nation cannot be underestimated. This is because
inadequate power supply in an economy is detrimental to the overall
productivity of small, medium and large scale industries.
Nigeria is
the most populous black nation in the world and despite its huge natural
resources it is still one of the poorest countries in the world with an
estimated GDP of 2162 dollars (Iwayemi, 2008). Over the years, the
importance of attaining a regular and steady power supply has been at
the center of developmental debate in Nigeria. Sambo (2008) has traced
the history of electricity in Nigeria to 1896 when electricity was first
introduced in Lagos, 15 years after its introduction in England. He
observed that despite the fact that the emergence of electricity in
Nigeria is over a century; its development has been at a slow rate.
Sambo further observed that for over 20 years prior to 1999, the power
sector did not witness substantial investment in infrastructural
development. There were no new investments and existing ones were in a
deplorable state. In 2001, generation went down to an average of about
1750MW, as compared to a load demand of 6000MW. According to the same
author, only nineteen out of the seventy- nine installed generating were
in operation.
Nigeria is richly endowed with various energy
resources; crude oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, solar energy, wind
energy and fissionable materials for nuclear energy. In spite of these,
Okafor (2006) observed that the country consistently suffers from energy
shortage, a major impediment to industrial and technological growth.
There is an extreme electricity deficiency in Nigeria and the causes of
this deficiency are related to financial, socio- political and
structural issues which lead to the power sector in Nigeria to be
recording high energy losses from power generation and billing as a
result of these inefficiencies (Iwayemi, 2008).
The power situation
in Nigeria is very is regrettably grim. What is often projected for
generation by the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) now Power
Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN), a government parastatal saddled with
the responsibility of managing plants as well as distribution of power
nationally is not commensurate with demand. Consequently, individuals,
0rganisations and industries resort to internal generating plants. An
estimated 60- 70% of the Nigerian population does not have access to
electricity. Energy demand in Nigeria is dominated by fuel wood and
women and children are the most affected in the energy crisis. At
present only 10% of rural households and 30- 40% of the country’s total
population has access to electricity (Sambo, 2007). The energy sector in
Nigeria totally rely on government subsidize fuel and funding of major
energy plants and energy capital projects by the federal, states and
government agencies.
Okafor (2008) has reported that the current per
capita consumption of electricity in Nigeria as at 2008 was about
106kwh/person compared to what Ghana’s 430, India’s 470 and Brazil’s
1800. Expected increase in consumption was 379MW annually at 2.5%
population annual growth rate and 5% annual growth of the economy.
Studies
and experiences have shown that power generation in Nigeria has been
dismal and unable to compare with what obtains in small African
countries. A recent survey on power distribution to the industrial
sector in Nigeria showed that average power outage in the industrial
sector increased from 13.3 hours in January 2006 to 14.5 hours in March
2006. In a worsening experience, the outage increased to 16.48 hours per
day in June. In other words, power distribution in the month of June,
2006 to the industrial sector, on the average was 7.52 hours in March of
the same year. In Bompai area in Kano state, power outage increased
from 10.3 hours in January to 13.0 hours in March, while in
Enugu/Anambra zone, it increased from 17.2 hours to 18.5 hours within
the same period. In Edo/Delta zone the average power supply to
industrial area is put at 4.4 hours per day. The Ikeja industrial area
of Lagos enjoyed power for 21.5 hours per day, the highest in the
country. Industrial estates in Bauchi, Benue and Plateau zone receive
power supply for 4.5 hours per day which amounted to near blackout in
real sense (Nwoshai, 2006; Odiaka, 2006).
Studies further revealed
that power supply in virtually all the states in Nigeria has been dismal
and irregular. For instance, in Benue state, only Makurdi the state
capital receives electricity supply for about five hours a day. Also in
Delta state some communities never had power for upwards of six months.
In Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country, the situation is
also bad as power supply in many in many residential parts of Lagos is
about four hours per day with cuts at short intervals. It is a total
blackout in some areas for about three days or more (Akpan, 2005;
Odiaka, 2006; Ogunmodede, 2006).
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The importance of power supply to any economy cannot be overemphasized. It the pivot on which the economic, industrial and technological development of any nation is hinged upon. This study was carried out to assess the state of power supply and use in Gyel District of Jos- South Local Government Area of Plateau State. Four communities were selected to constitute the sample population using the simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was the major instrument used for data co ... Continue reading---
