….41% Of Households Buy FuelWoods For Energy
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in collaboration with key agencies and development partners, has advised the federal and state governments to prioritize reforestation in the current initiatives aimed at ensuring a cleaner environment for socioeconomic wellbeing of the citizenry and sustainable development of the country.
The statistics agency gave the charge during pre-launch media briefing on its 2024 Nigeria Residential Energy Demand-Side Survey (NREDSS), which is the maiden edition of the energy demand survey conducted to provide an understanding of household energy acquisition, usage, and expenditure.
The survey, which was conducted in nine states of the federation, comprising Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ekiti, Oyo, Enugu, Kwara, Plateau, Kano, and Sokoto, was conducted to assess household energy consumption, evaluate access to electricity, analyse residential appliances and usage, and provide valuable insights for policymakers, industry players and the government.
The findings showed that in the covered states, that fuelwoods were commonly acquired through purchase with about 41% of households reported purchasing fuelwoods, closely followed by 39.0% of households cutting/collection while only 18.9% of households used other means such as barter, gift, borrowing etc.
The results also revealed that 55.3% of fuelwoods cut/collected were branches, stems and trees, while 67.8% of households used fuelwoods either for domestic, agricultural, commercial, cultural or religious purposes.
Similarly, the survey found that one in every five households or 22.0% used charcoal during the reference period, and among households using charcoal, 21.6% purchased the product, only 0.3 and 0.6% acquired it through own production, and other means respectively.
Furthermore, the results show that 19.4% of households reported using LPG during the survey period, implying that about one in every five households use LPG and the average monthly expenditure on LPG stood at N10,239.7 across the surveyed states.
In addition, the survey findings reflected that over 58% of households were connected to the national grid across the nine states surveyed, and 86.6% had electricity supply during the reference period.
According to the Bureau, out of the total households connected to the national grid, 85.2% used an estimated billing system while 14.8% reported using a pre-paid billing system. In addition, the average monthly expenditure of households on electricity was estimated at N4,155.8 during the period under review.
Based on the high dependence level on fuelwoods by the households and negative implications for lives and fauna, the Bureau canvassed the need for all tiers of governments in the country to sustainable promote cleaner energy investments and policy initiatives.
The NBS advocated: “It is recommended that following the wide use of fuelwood, the government should promote the re-planting of trees and the use of clean energy such as LGP, wind, solar etc, to reduce environmental problems such as air pollution, climate change, water pollution, thermal pollution, and solid waste disposal.
“ In addition, the government should encourage establishment of more LPG stations and local production of gas cylinders and other accessories with added value to lower the end-user’s cost; and optimise electricity generation by decentralising the national grid through mini-grids”, the agency added.
In his keynote address at the event, the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, said that the initiative, involving the statistics agency, the Federal Ministry of Power (FMP), the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the European Union (EU), was commissioned to assess and estimate the energy demand in the residential sector for the 2024 reference period.
According to him, the survey is very important coming at this critical period in Nigeria, when energy demand, usage, and pricing have all been major topics of discussion in recent years.
Adeniran noted that the insights contained in the report provided sound evidence for policymakers, operators, and the general public to apply in these discussions, even as the government continued to seek better outcomes for the energy sector
He maintained that the findings of this study, just like all the other statistics the NBS had reported were not just mere numbers but that they represented the experiences of Nigerians, adding that the findings must be applied judiciously to address the gap faced in the supply side of the energy demand in the household sector.
Adeniran assured that the Bureau would continue to work and collaborate with all relevant and interested partners to see that it consistently provide the necessary information that its growing users require for their work as well as also build a well-coordinated and responsive statistical system that within short notice, can provide timely data to address emerging issues.
He thanked the management and staff of the ECN, FMP, IEA, and EU for their collaboration which helped in producing the NREDSS’ report, stressing that their determination, commitment, and sense of partnership toward ensuring the successful completion of this assignment are indeed worthy of commendation.
The Statistician-General described the report as a roadmap for action reflecting the NBS’ commitment to enhancing energy security, efficiency, and sustainability in meeting the growing energy demands of the population, and charged the governments and other stakeholders in the energy sector to transform the insights contained in the report into actionable policies and programmes that will positively impact the lives of all Nigerians.
