Energy
Bloomberg has a piece on Nigerian energy. They report,
“Generators are everywhere in Lagos, used by almost everyone in the Nigerian megacity to counteract crippling power outages.”
“While they vary in style and capability, the worst of the generators, which are found in countless shops and homes, put out only enough juice to run fans, turn on lights and charge phones.
Researchers at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a consultant in New York, estimated as recently as 2019 that Nigeria had a fleet of 22 million petrol generators.”
The article continues,
“In Lagos, about 70% of households aren’t connected to the grid. The lucky few with connections contend with blackouts lasting more than 12 hours a day. The national grid delivers only 1,000 megawatts to a city of 25 million people. By contrast, Shanghai, with roughly the same population, supplies more than 30,000MW (megawatts) at peak demand.”
This is a great little relational paragraph you rarely find in the financial and energy press.
Let's accept Lagos has 25 million people and the Nigerian grid delivers 1,000 megawatts. Compared to Shanghai that's 30 times less electricity delivered. Now let's throw in another comparison, the state of Florida, which has a population approximately 10% less than either Lagos or Shanghai. Yet, Florida has a grid capacity of 66,000 megawatts, that's over double Shanghai, 66 times greater than Lagos, for a population 10% smaller. So, this is a short revealing example of the global energy picture. Energy problems and energy solutions are by no means equal.
The article talks about instead of petrol generators the Nigerians use solar, particularly distributed solar – good idea. The article then makes an unintentionally amusing but excellent point,
“Adeyemo says years of trying to sell solar have taught him it’s about building affordable products that suit the customer’s lifestyle rather than trying to change that lifestyle.”
Funny if you’ve ever tried to talk to Americans about energy consumption, though on the contrary, changing the global energy equation means absolutely changing lifestyles, but the lifestyle changes in the United States are much different than those in Nigeria. It can be better for all, but it will be different.
In addition, according to Reuters, the long talked about Dangote refinery is coming closer to be online with a capacity of 650,000 barrels a day. Today, Nigeria with 200 million people uses less than a half-million barrels of oil a day, compared to California’s 37 million people burning 2 million barrels a day. With the refinery online, Nigeria could quit exporting oil to then be imported back as gasoline. Then the Nigerians, for the good of the world and their own good, should quit exporting the rest.