Nigeria Drops To 21 On AfDB’s Electricity Regulatory Index

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The electricity sector in Nigeria is ranked 21st out of 43 African countries, according to the African Development Bank’s 2021 Electricity Regulatory Index.

Last year, Nigeria was ranked 8th out of 36 African countries, which shows that Nigeria has dropped significantly unlike Uganda that has maintained the first position for four years.

The 2021 Electricity Regulatory Index report covered 43 countries, up from 36 in the previous edition. This report assessed the countries’ impact on the performance of their electricity sectors.

It covered three countries in the North Africa region, 14 in West Africa, six in Central Africa, seven in East Africa, and 13 in the Southern Africa region. Aside from Uganda, the strong performers included Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and Egypt.

In a press statement published on AfDB’s website on Wednesday to announce the release of the report, it was stated that African countries need to improve on regulatory independence.

The statement read in part, “Among the 2021 report’s key highlights are that regulatory independence is one sub-indicator where African countries have room to improve: in 93 per cent of sampled countries, governments, and stakeholders exercise influence over regulatory authorities.

“In terms of regulatory substance, participating countries scored lowest on adequacy of their tariff setting and frameworks, as well as licensing frameworks when compared with best practice.”