Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa with the highest electricity deficit, says a new report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

According to the report, electricity access rates in 24 African countries were below 50 per cent, with Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, having the biggest electricity access deficits on the continent.

The report also cited Liberia, Malawi, the Central African Republic, Burundi, and South Sudan as having stagnated or reversed in electricity access.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe, said achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 might elude Africa due to limited supply and access to electricity.

Ms Songwe stated this in her presentation at a virtual ministerial meeting in Addis Ababa, according to a statement by the ECA.

The SDG-7 is one of 17 SDGs established by the UN General Assembly in 2015. It aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Six hundred million people in Africa do not have access to electricity, and 900 million have no access to clean cooking fuel, based on a report by the commission. 

“There’s no way Africa can build forward better if we do not make adequate investments in energy and ensure affordable access for all,” Ms Songwe said.

The ECA report also deplored Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels and biomass instead of diversifying its primary energy supply, given its plethora of resources.

In the same light, Anthony Mehlwana, an ECA economic affairs officer, stressed the urgent need to invest in electricity infrastructure, diversify electricity supply and embrace modern renewables.

In terms of prices, Mr Mehlwana said that Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) or fossil power plants were more expensive than wind and solar.

“Onshore wind costs $59 per MW while utility solar PV costs $79 per MW. Meanwhile, the cost of coal is $109 per MW, and natural gas stands at $74 per MW,” he said.

He added that high energy production costs, transmission, and distribution losses, ranging from 18 to 25 per cent, meant that utilities needed to be constantly bailed out and subsidies implemented for users.

The report recommended that countries provide an enabling environment for crowding-in private sector investments in the electricity sector; apply cost-reflective tariffs while paying attention to efficient electricity generation to lower the costs.

“At this rate and according to the SDG 7 tracking report, Africa will not meet the SDG 7 targets due to limited supply and access to electricity. About $40 billion worth of investments per year is needed to meet the continents energy needs,” the report stated.

The study also highlighted the need for countries to introduce natural gas as a transitionary fuel to replace coal and facilitate the full deployment of renewables.

Similarly, Oliver Chinganya, Director, African Centre for Statistics (ACS) at the ECA, noted that access to cheap and clean energy was an essential component of Africa’s transformation and industrialisation.

“Households use 86 per cent of biofuel and waste energy for cooking, while the transport sector consumes 78 per cent of oil. Natural gas is mainly used in the industrial sector,” Mr Chinganya said.