RLI publishes open household data on energy use in Nigeria

February 28, 2023 | It is the largest public dataset on actual energy use in Nigeria: researchers from the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) publish representative results of a survey of about 4700 households and businesses. As part of the project “People Power: Optimizing Off-Grid Electricity Supply Systems in Nigeria” (PeopleSuN), the data provides answers to the question of how people use electricity when they are connected to the grid. The data is available for public use – and show detailed problems with the existing power supply.

What data did the researchers collect?

The data comes from a survey conducted in 2021. For this, local partners in Nigeria surveyed 3599 households and 1122 small and medium-sized enterprises on site. The survey covered an area of 225 non-urban geographic units in Nigeria.

The special aspect: People who were already connected to electricity were surveyed. This enables the researchers to find out how electricity is actually used. Data on potential use is already available for many Nigerian areas. However, these are based on assumptions, which entail a great deal of uncertainty.

The data now collected are representative according to scientific standards and unique to the extent available in relation to the research question. It has been processed and are now available for use by anyone under an open license.

It can be accessed and downloaded from the Havard Dataverse platform.

What does the data tell us?

Various statements can be made with the results of the data. It shows that even in places that are connected to the power grid, the power supply is often unreliable and frequently interrupted by power outages. Because of these problems with the quality of supply, Nigerians resort to self-generation with gasoline and diesel generators. Many do not see the national grid as their primary source of electricity.

Furthermore, if we look at the data on ownership of electrical appliances with the energy they require, it becomes apparent that the demand cannot be met sufficiently to operate the appliances satisfactorily.

The high rate of use of power generators underscores the willingness and ability of respondents to pay for a reliable power supply.

One conclusion of these statements derived from the data is that electrification is not just about adding new connections to the grid, but about improving the supply of electricity through existing grid connections.

From the findings, it is now possible to make statements about areas that do not have access to electricity just yet, but have similar socioeconomic and cultural conditions as the respondents. Therefore, the data is also useful for the non-surveyed regions in Nigeria and, moreover, for other West African countries with similar conditions.

Who can use it further?

The data is of interest to a variety of audiences. On the one hand, researchers can use it to answer other questions, such as willingness to pay, gender aspects, or regional differences. On the other hand, governmental organizations can use the data for their electrification planning. Companies developing local projects can also incorporate the data into their planning, for example, to create robust analyses of electricity demand.

How does the data work?

In addition to the data, the researchers have produced a paper that can be used as an instruction manual for further use of the data. In it, the researchers describe their methodological approach to survey design and explain the research approach. The paper also contains a first descriptive analysis of the data and the following results. The paper is available on the preprint server arXiv.

What is the PeopleSuN project about?

The research and development project “PeopleSuN” aims to improve access to reliable and sustainable energy in previously underserved regions in Nigeria. To this end, electrification strategies for rural areas are being developed with the help of off-grid photovoltaic systems. The focus is not only on technical solutions, but especially on developing an understanding of local needs and realistic financial frameworks in order to optimize the deployment of off-grid systems. Finally, recommendations for economic deployment models and concrete policy measures will be derived from this. The project runs for three years, until December 2023.

Partner institutions in the project on the German side are the Technical University of Berlin, the Wuppertal Institute, MicroEnergy International GmbH and Fosera GmbH&Co KG. Partners in Nigeria are Covenant University, Obafemi Awolowo University, Université Abdou Moumouni of Niamey, PowerGen Renewable Energy Ltd, Creeds Energy Ltd, Clean Technology Hub Energy Innovation Centre and Rural Electrification Agency.

Regular joint workshops are held. As consortium leader, RLI coordinates all activities of the inter- and transdisciplinary project PeopleSuN.

PeopleSuN receives financial support within the framework of the funding guideline “CLIENT II – International Partnerships for Sustainable Innovation” of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Further information about the PeopleSuN-project can be found on the project’s website.