Economic implications of constant power outages on SMEs in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the unabated epileptic power (electric) delivery which is seen to be periodic with a struggling generation capacity and losses-prone inefficient transmission network in Nigeria. Ordinarily, it should mean that only an average Nigerian suffers directly, and only, the burden of this inefficiency, whereby electricity supply to power both household and commercial appliances becomes unpredictable. Yet, further studies have revealed that there is almost no other sector that this ineptitude does not impact indirectly, especially as adverse economic consequences. GDP per Capita versus electrical energy production data for Nigeria and selected countries for the year 2004 served as input parameters which underwent research validation. Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) were a case study in this paper. In the end, submissions are that apart from the internal devastating effect on SMEs, constant power outages have a major connection with the recent trends of big companies closing or relocating from Nigeria. To sum up, measures were suggested for improvement.