Melvin Onwubuke
In view of the crisis affecting the power sector in Nigeria, the energy costs incurred by some of the largest listed companies in the country increased significantly last year.
The most energy costs reported in 2023 are recorded by cement manufacturers, with BUA Cement posting an increase of 86.5 percent to N123,26 billion from N91.18b, according to BusinessDay.
Dangote Cement, followed closely with a reported 49.80 per cent increase of electricity costs in 2023 to N399.20 million from N266.48 billion.
Meanwhile, Lafarge Africa reported an increase in energy costs by 21.62 percent to N75.66 billion from N62.20 billion.
BUA Foods recorded a sharp increase in energy costs to N21.23 billion in 2023 from N14.11 billion in consumer goods sector.
Nascon Allied Industries’ petrol and oil costs grew by 84.5 percent to N45.61 million in 2023 from N24.71 million.
The analysts noted that this considerable increase in energy costs underscores the challenges faced by businesses in Nigeria, particularly as operating efficiency continues to grow while cost increases continue.
Bala Zakka, an energy analyst, said manufacturers cannot afford to incur additional costs, with the current state of the Nigerian economy.
Nigeria with it’s population of over 200 million, has been struggling from epileptic power generation and supply; 3000mw to 4000mw generated.
Recall, the situation got worse in January, after the suppliers of gas to thermal plants stopped the supply, citing $1.3bn debt of the electricity generating plants.
The Power Minister had recently claimed that FG was stepping up its efforts to generate at least 20,000 megawatts of electricity over the following three years. He noted that without energy, no substantial industrial expansion is possible because energy is the lifeblood of every economy.
