Following the commencement of the 25-day maintenance of Omotosho-Ikeja West 330kV power line by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), yesterday, electricity users, mostly in the manufacturing sector, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) segment and household owners in Lagos State and parts of Ogun State, experienced interrupted supply causing total blackout in most parts of the day.
With this, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has raised concerns that Ikeja axis, being the heartbeat and power house of most industries, is already witnessing intermittent blackout, causing local manufacturers’ total expenditure on alternative energy sources to spike exponentially.
In fact, MAN disclosed to New Telegraph that Nigerian consumers should be ready to also pay more for goods produced within this period as the 25-day maintenance will have multiple effects on the country’s manufacturing sector’s energy costs – from fuel, diesel to cooking gas.
Similarly, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) stated that the intermittent’ blackout was expected to affect the MSMEs segment, representing over 96 per cent of Nigerian businesses already grappling with deep-rooted structural and macroeconomic challenges.
The Directors-General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, and his LCCI counterpart, Dr Chinyere Almona, affirmed that local manufacturers and MSME businesses would pay more for alternative energy sources throughout the period.
Ajayi-Kadir noted that, last year alone, prices of diesel and PMS pushed up manufacturers’ total expenditure on alternative energy sources to N1.11 trillion, a 42.3 per cent increase from N781.68 billion achieved in 2023. He warned that with the current blackout, local manufacturers spending on these alternative energy sources could spike, hitting between N1.5 trillion and N2 trillion by year end.
Ajayi-Kadir said: “The blackout we are experiencing in Lagos State following the maintenance and repairs being undertaken by the TCN is going to worsen power supply to the industrial sector, because Ikeja is the powerhouse of most industries manufacturing in Nigeria today. So our members are going to pay heavily for alternative energy sources, including petrol and diesel to gas for production.
“This will adversely spike up energy costs spending in our manufacturing sector, because already, we are spending lots to produce goods in Nigeria, as we are being confronted with deep-rooted structural and macroeconomic challenges, especially regular electricity supply in the country.
“In 2024, local manufacturers’ total expenditure on alternative energy sources was N1.11 trillion. So we should expect that this intermittent blackout will see us spending more on alternative energy sources that could reach N1.5 trillion or N2 trillion in 2025. “So, Nigerians should be ready to pay more for manufacturing products, because it is the only way to remain in production.”
