Even darker days for Nigeria as power supply gets worse

Even at the best of times Nigeria ranks among the lowest countries in the world for energy consumption, and production is currently at historic lows

Taxi motocycles wait for passengers under electricity cables on the Apapa - Oshodi expressway in Lagos, while students study with a kerosene lamp due to epileptic public power supply in the Nigeria's capital city (inset). AFP photos

alogun Shakirat woke up with a start at 3 a.m. and put on the light in her workshop in a crowded working class district of Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos.

In the following three hours, she was able to sew shirts, trousers and a jacket. Then the electricity supply went off again.

"No light the whole day today," she complained.

Instead she stitched the hems of traditional Yoruba hats with a needle at her overheated single-story house and waited for night to fall. "NEPA brings light at night these days," said Shakirat, referring to the National Electric Power Authority, or, as it's often been called, "Never Expect Power Always."

The electricity provider hasn't existed for years under the name NEPA, but it's still talked about like a person, its presence or absence dictating the rhythm of Nigerian life.

Even at the best of times Nigeria, which is home to more than 170 million people, ranks among the lowest countries in the world for energy consumption at just 155 kilowatt hours per person.

But these are not the best of times: Production has wavered for the last few months between 1,500 to 4,000 megawatts.

In comparison, South Africa, which has three times fewer people, capacity is more than 10 times greater at 45,000 MW. Between 8,000 and 9,000 MW is the bare minimum considered necessary for Lagos' economy to...