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DESPITE BORROWING OVER $3.2BN, NIGERIA’S POWER GENERATION REMAINS AT 4500MW
Nigeria has borrowed over $3.23 billion in the last four years to fix its electricity problems, but the country still cannot produce more than about 4,500 megawatts of power for its 200 million people.
Different international organisations like the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have given Nigeria this money.
The money has come in several large chunks. For example, the World Bank approved several major projects: $500m for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project, $750m for renewable energy projects, and $1.5bn for the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation. The African Development Bank also gave $500m to help Nigeria switch to cleaner energy sources.
The African Development Bank explained that their loan would “help close the financing gap in the Federal Budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year, specifically supporting the implementation of Nigeria’s new Electricity Act and the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan.”
Even with all this money, Nigeria’s power situation hasn’t improved much. As recently as Thursday, the highest amount of power generated was “4,743MW,” which is about the same as it’s been for the past three years.
The country still suffers from frequent power outages, with twelve national grid breakdowns recorded in 2024 alone.
