Modelling Future Electricity: Rethinking the Organizational Model of Nigeria’s Electricity Sector

Abstract

Addressing global challenges, such as climate change and other related environmental concerns, requires a rethink in the organization of production and consumption processes. This also includes electricity production and consumption. The need for greater competitiveness in the provision of critical infrastructure (including electricity) is also a challenge. This has led to the liberalization of many electricity markets across the world. In this paper, following an exploratory study of nine countries across Africa, Asia, and South America, the common features that characterize the electricity market liberalization process, as well as the key drivers of electricity sector reforms across the world, were established. These features were then used to highlight the main challenges of the Nigerian electricity sector and to provide an explanation of the key milestones that characterize the Nigeria’s electricity sector liberalization process (2001–2017). This paper further discusses five possible future models by which most electricity supply markets will be organized in the future. It concludes by proposing a new model for the organization of the Nigerian electricity industry that would not only aid in addressing the current electricity deficit challenge but also pave the way for the creation of a market structure that can drive Nigeria toward a secure energy future.

Keywords

• Electricity
• electricity supply industry
• electricity supply industry deregulation
• energy
• power industry
• power systems planning