Nigeria Not Among African Countries With Cheapest Electricity Tariffs

• Nigeria is one of the countries in West Africa with the lowest electricity tariffs as of April 8, 2024
• Nigeria recently raised its electricity tariffs from N66/kWh to N255kWh for some categories
• Mali, Togo, Ghana and other countries rank among West African countries with lower electricity tariffs than Nigeria

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Nigeria is one of the few West African countries with cheap electricity tariffs despite recently increasing its price from N66/kWh to N255.

The country’s national electricity regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), announced increased tariffs for Band A categories on April 4, 2024.

Nigeria raises electricity tariffs

The increase has been greeted with mixed reactions among the business community. Many say it will push up production costs and increase living standards.

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According to data from Global Petrol Prices, the 240% rise in electricity tariffs in Nigeria still leaves the country among the least in the West African region.

Also, reports show that some African countries are plagued with high electricity access.

Top 5 countries with cheap electricity tariffs

Mali

Mali’s electricity tariff is about $0.215/kWh, which shows that the difference between the country's and Nigeria’s tariffs is about 1 116%.

Togo

According to recent data, electricity access in Togo stands at about 55.7%, with a tariff of $0.215/kWh.

Senegal

The country’s power is quite advanced, with 70% electricity access, and the state-run Senelec is in control of generating and distributing energy.

Senegal charges about $0.180/kWh in electricity tariffs, making it the region’s highest.

Ghana

This West African country made significant progress in its electricity industry. It currently has 85% access to power, and efforts are ongoing to raise this figure. Ghana’s electricity tariff stands at $0.125/kWh.

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Ivory Coast

The country’s electricity access is about 66%, and its citizens pay an electricity tariff of about $0.110.

According to the report, Nigeria ranks second in Africa with high electricity tariffs after Egypt, followed by Zambia.

Top 10 African countries with the best electricity access

Legit.ng previously reported that Nigeria's poor electricity supply has put it behind seemingly more minor countries with less Gross Domestic Product {GDP) in Africa.

Electricity supply remains the fulcrum of national development in any country, and many African countries lack the ability to provide basic and all-important amenities for their teeming population.

All across the continent, billions of people live in darkness or have epileptic power supply and are unable to get access to electricity for household use.

Source: Legit.ng