The Hidden Climate Cost of Nigeria Electricity Crisis – THISDAYLIVE

thisdaylive.com · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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SOStainabilityWeekly Edited by Oke Epia, E-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com | WhatsApp: +234 8034000706 Trends and Threads More often than not in Nigeria, the flip of a light switch brings disappointment. For decades, the nation’s electricity sector has shown a chronic inability to provide stable, reliable power to its 200 million-plus citizens. What Nigerians have come to call “epileptic power” – unpredictable, often nonexistent electricity – is more than a daily irritation. It’s a structural crisis that harms the economy and silently accelerates climate change and environmental degradation. Despite abundant resources and decades of reform efforts, Nigeria’s national grid remains fragile, and its repeated failures tell a story that goes far beyond lights flickering in and out. The collapsing grid and frequent outages At the heart of Nigeria’s power problems is the national grid- a network designed to distribute electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. On paper, Nigeria has an installed capacity of more than 13,000 megawatts (MW). But in practice, most of that capacity is never available due to a combination of factors affecting the grid. Year after year, the grid has faltered. In 2024, only around 4,200 MW of electricity was actually generated on average, a tiny fraction of what a country of Nigeria’s size needs. Reports from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) show that between 2020 and 2024, the grid collapsed 26 times, with nine of those collapses in 2024 alone. In January 2026, the grid collapsed at least twice. Some experts dispute the language of “collapse” referring to certain outages as “tripping.” Yet, the everyday experience remains the same: power disappearing without warning and often taking hours or days to return. The hidden cost of generators as an alternative power supply When the grid fails, households, offices, and factories turn to what is often the only immediate backup: diesel and petrol generators. These machines, powered by fossil fuels, produce electricity with a constant stream of harmful emissions. For most low-income communities, the cost of a large solar system with batteries is simply out of reach. Wealthier businesses and industries can sometimes afford larger renewable installations, but struggling families, micro-businesses, and poorer communities largely cannot. This means their fallback is often the cheapest short-term option: a polluting generator that burns fuel continuously. Generators emit carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and soot, all of which degrade air quality and contribute to respiratory illnesses. Over time, these emissions also add to the global greenhouse effect, fueling climate change and making heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather more frequent and severe. The International Energy Agency reports that Nigerians rely on generators for around 40 percent of the electricity consumed, a staggering share that reflects just how unreliable the grid has become. This has a two-fold consequence: households and businesses spend valuable income on fuel, and emissions add silently but steadily to Nigeria’s contribution to global warming. In Lagos for instance, the heavy dependence on diesel generators stands out as a major contributor to worsening air pollution, thereby significantly increasing harmful emissions and deepening public health risks across the city. The economic framing is part of the problem Most discussions about Nigeria’s electricity crisis understandably focus on economic losses. Unstable power forces firms to self-generate energy, often at massive cost. An estimate says businesses lost over $26 billion annually due to outages and self-generation expenses. But this figure understates the true societal cost, because it rarely accounts for long-term environmental damage and the hidden climate cost. By framing the crisis almost entirely as an economic problem, the search for solutions tends to ignore a vital factor: air quality, climate vulnerability, and environmental health are power issues too. The climate crisis cannot be treated in isolation from the way we produce and consume energy, and Nigeria’s electricity crisis inadvertently shifts the burden from the grid to the atmosphere. A study shows that emissions from diesel-generators are often higher per unit of energy than grid power, worsening urban air quality and adding millions of tons of CO2e annually, while also exposing populations to harmful toxic pollutants that can enter the food chain, degrade ecosystems, and undermine sustainable efforts towards energy transition. The toll on social services Nigeria’s power instability extends far beyond the inconvenience of blackouts, hitting the very heart of social service delivery. Hospitals and clinics face frequent disruptions that jeopardize patient care, interrupt critical medical procedures, and compromise the safe storage of vaccines and essential medicines that rely on refrigeration. Inadequate or unpredictable electricity forces medical facilities to rely on costly diesel generators, increasing operational expenses while exposing patients and workers to additional health risks from air pollution. The ripple effect on healthcare infrastructure diminishes trust in public services and amplifies health inequalities, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to reliable backup power is limited. Educational institutions are similarly affected, as schools and universities struggle to maintain a consistent learning environment. Digital learning tools, laboratory experiments, and online research platforms depend on reliable electricity; frequent outages disrupt teaching schedules and limit students’ exposure to practical, technology-driven skills. This instability not only hampers educational outcomes but also undermines long-term human capital development, leaving students ill-prepared for the demands of a modern economy. Addressing Nigeria’s epileptic power supply is not simply an energy challenge; it is a social imperative as well, as the quality of health, education, and overall societal development hinges on a reliable and resilient electricity system. SDGs are still afar off The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 is to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy by 2030. This isn’t just about having a light switch that works. It’s about ensuring that energy is clean, sustainable, and accessible to every community. Nigeria’s story of persistent blackouts, rising generator dependence, and uneven progress on renewables suggests that this target remains far from reach. With just a few years left until the 2030 deadline, the question becomes not whether Nigeria wants universal clean energy, but whether its current path can realistically deliver it. There is promising momentum in renewable energy adoption, especially solar. Solar installations are increasing, demand has grown significantly, and even some farmers are turning to solar irrigation and off-grid systems for reliable power. Yet cost and access are major barriers. High upfront prices and limited financing options make solar systems unattainable for many households and small businesses. Only wealthier consumers typically have the means to invest in rooftop solar or storage batteries, leaving the most vulnerable populations still dependent on dirty, polluting generators. For a truly just energy transition, solar and clean energy solutions must be made affordable and scalable, especially for communities and low-income families who currently have no viable alternatives. Accountability and call to action To change this trajectory, Nigeria needs more than technical fixes: it needs political will, accountability, and coordinated action across key stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), and the state-level Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs). The country must prioritize investment in infrastructure that prevents grid collapse, modernizes grid management, and decentralizes power production. Regulators and power generation companies must work together to enforce standards and expand affordable clean energy access. Civil society, youth groups, and activists must push for transparency in energy spending, environmental impact reporting, and equitable energy policies. International partners and investors such as the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) should attach climate risks and social standards to energy financing, ensuring that commitments to renewables are meaningful and impactful. Every actor has a role to play in solving this crisis, and every day that passes without decisive reform is another day Nigeria’s climate and people pay the price. If Nigeria truly seeks universal, clean, modern energy by 2030 as envisioned in SDG 7, then leaders, communities, and citizens must confront the crisis holistically: stable power isn’t just an economic issue but a climate and human rights imperative. While the lights must come on, they must be clean, sustainable, and equitable for all. Washing and Hushing Nigeria’s Climate Partnerships: The Search for Real Impacts In today’s interconnected world, no country, regardless of size, resources, or demographic advantage, can thrive in isolation. Strategic partnerships and negotiations with foreign governments, multinational institutions, corporations, and civil society are not optional but are critical necessities. For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and one of its largest economies, the art of collaboration has shaped policy, opened markets, and built bridges to innovation. But while agreements are signed with much ceremony, their true worth must be measured in impact on the everyday lives of Nigerian citizens. It comes down to transparency and accountability. From rhe