ANALYSIS OF POWER SECTOR PERFORMANCE: NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Electric power supply is one of the basic infrastructural, requirements for industrialization, productivity and growth in any economy as well as improvement in the quality of life. The Nigerian electricity industry has undergone long overdue reform and has been deregulated. The new institutions and regulations are to be overseen by an independent regulator. Despite the deregulation and reforms, electricity generation is epileptic. This study analyzes the performance of Nigerian power sector so as to suggest possible means of ensuring improvements of the sector. Specification and estimation techniques were used for a period of eleven years.. Secondary data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin of 2018 and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The performance of the power generated was evaluated using the overall efficiency and thermal efficiency.The results showed that the average value of the overall efficiency for the ten years period of study was 15.68% while the thermal efficiency had the average value of 15.37%. The result confirmed that deregulation of power sector has no effect on the efficiency of Nigerian power sector when the results were compared with the international best practice standards which are 30% and above for overall efficiency and 45% and above for thermal efficiency. The study therefore suggested possible strategies for efficient power sector improvement.

Keywords: Electric Power, Nigerian Electric Industry, Deregulation, Reform, NERC, CBN, Specification Technique.