The Nexus between Energy Policies and Supply: A Descriptive Evaluation of Nigeria and UK Energy Sectors

Abstract

Nigeria has targeted to become one of the twenty strongest economies in the world by 2020 tagged as vision 20:2020; however, the country has failed to achieve its target as at end of 2020. The country’s per capita electricity consumption is one of the lowest in the world; therefore, considering the strong linkage between energy consumption and economic growth, low energy supply may have contributed to Nigeria’s failure to achieve its target. The country had its first electricity installations just 15 years apart from installed electricity facility in the United Kingdom. While the United Kingdom energy consumption per capita was 32,950.19 kWh in 2018, Nigeria’s per capita consumption was 2,725.678 in 2018. Provision of this quantum of energy in the UK was arguably achieved through implementing appropriately designed energy policies, footsteps of which Nigeria should have followed on the basis of _mutatis-mutandis_. Thus, the main aim of this study is to descriptively evaluate the efficiency of policies designed by governments in Nigeria and the UK on energy supply. To achieve this aim, secondary data on energy supply policy acts and energy consumption per capita denoting energy supply are collected from 1971 – 2018. Descriptive statistics are employed to present and analyze collected data while the policy analysis framework underpinned the study. Results from the study indicated that past Nigeria’s energy policies were not effective in solving Nigeria’s energy supply needs. The policy implications of obtained results are the need for policymakers in Nigeria to establish enabling policies that will tackle the country’s energy crises simultaneously. Similarly, the policies should ensure the utilization of all sources of energy to have an efficient energy mix.