The epileptic power supply in the country is said to be annually costing Nigerians over N796.4billion in terms of the amount they spend in fuelling their electricity generating set.
The Programme Director of Community Research and Development Centre (CREDC), Godfrey Ogbemudia made this known during the official launch of the Nigeria Renewable Energy for All Project in Benin, Edo State. He explained that the figure equals Federal Government’s budget of N796.7 billion for the capital expenditure for the 2009 fiscal year for 36 states of the federation.
Ogbemudia regretted that in spite of the various government policies aimed at reviving the energy sector, many Nigerians still get as low as four hours of electricity supply per day. He gave this as the reason why Nigerians should embrace solar as a viable source of power.
He noted that the CREDC had been playing a key role in the deployment of renewable energy to rural communities since 2006, part of which was the installation of stand-alone solar systems for no fewer than 550 households in Edo.
The Programme Director further explained that the solar project, also known as Nigeria-REAP, was aimed at improving access to sustainable and uninterrupted electricity supply, using renewable energy in collaboration with Schneider Electric.
Nigeria-REAP according to him, was also targeted at individual homes and corporate bodies who require regular and improved electricity power, compared to the current rate of supply.
He, however, urged Nigerian electricity consumers to take advantage of solar power as the most economically viable alternative to generate their own electricity.
Among other advantages, he pointed out that solar power as a renewable energy saves consumers the burden of paying electricity and maintenance bills, a benefit he noted was inescapable when using the conventional mean of power supply.
In his remarks, the acting Director of the National Centre for Energy and Environment in the University of Benin, Professor Martins Ogbonmwan, informed that the centre, through the Energy Commission of Nigeria, had developed and tested a wide range of renewable energy technologies for use in the South-South geo-political zone and the entire country.
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