Darkness Looms Over Nigeria as Militant Attacks Cut Power
- Electricity generation is down to a fifth of this year’s peak
- Nigeria relies on gas plants for about 80 percent of power
Employees work in the control room of the newly renovated energy generation plant in Lagos, Nigeria.
Photographer: George Osodi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Nigerians may have to get used to living in the dark.
Unless President Muhammadu Buhari, 73, can subdue armed militants attacking gas facilities that supply the nation’s power plants, his plans to remedy an electricity shortage he called a “national shame” in his inauguration speech a year ago will be stillborn. In March, Buhari said he would increase power generation by 2,000 megawatts this year and raise it by 2019 to 10,000 megawatts, double this year’s peak in early February.