Access to electricity services stimulate economic activities; helps create employment and assists the development of modern social services such as education, healthcare delivery and recreation. Electricity is therefore a pivotal factor in poverty reduction and long-term eradication. However, today about one hundred million Nigerians remain literally “in the dark” – without access to electricity. The majority of un-electrified households are in rural areas.
Poor access to modern forms of energy diminishes the chances for economic development, the quality and effectiveness of essential social and community services, and is likely to lead to the deterioration of the environment, including household air quality. Lack of electricity also leaves rural people without electronic communication linkages to the outside world, potentially exacerbating the “digital divide”. Improving Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure and rapidly scaling up energy access are essential for the economic and social transformation of Nigeria’s rural areas.
The agricultural and small and medium enterprise sectors will be the main engines for rapid growth and poverty reduction in rural areas. Access to modern energy – together with other tools for development – can boost agricultural productivity and rural incomes. Safer, cleaner, more abundant, and reliable electricity services can also help sustain rural livelihoods by facilitating improved irrigation; agricultural processing, mechanization and modernization; electronic communications; and integration with regional and national markets.
