Consumers turn to solar as grid power fails to deliver

September 01, 2025

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Nigerian consumers are struggling with rising grid tariffs and are turning to self-generation through solar. A recent study by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research found that firms now spend 82% of their monthly turnover on production costs, largely due to higher electricity tariffs, and residential consumers' monthly bills have doubled.

  • Nigeria's solar demand has risen, resulting in more imports from China. The latest data from Ember shows it imported 1,063 MW in the past seven months, placing it ahead of Egypt and Morocco, which have been dominating the solar space.

  • This rising demand has attracted several solar manufacturing companies to set up base and has even led the country to contemplate banning solar imports to capitalise on the demand and build domestic manufacturing capacity.

  • Our take: Expect to see growth in hybrid systems, solar plus batteries, and efficiency technologies as consumers seek to cut costs further… Read more (2 min)

Zambia has opened its first healthcare facility powered by solar under the Gavi Health Facility Solarisation Electrification (HFSE) program, which aims to connect 250 healthcare facilities across the country. This comes at a time when load-shedding is worsening, with the national utility now providing residential customers with only five hours of electricity per day.

  • 25% of healthcare facilities across sub-Saharan Africa operate without any electricity, and only 28% report reliable power. The integration of renewable energy addresses a fundamental gap in infrastructure.

  • Dependence on the unreliable grid could compromise vaccine storage, surgical sterilisation, and basic medical services in hospitals, resulting in loss of lives and poor health services in hospitals.

  • Our take: The intersection of energy and healthcare represents one of the most critical development challenges facing Africa today.… Read more (2 min)

The month of August saw Africa's energy sector receive at least $3.1 billion in funding and commitments, which was almost five times less than what it received in July. The funding was spread across twelve African countries. Nigeria was the biggest recipient with $494 million, followed by Ethiopia at $424 million and Zambia at $400 million.

  • The funding climate in Africa remains attractive as many countries push towards electrification. This is reflected in solar panel imports, where at least 26 countries are expected to import more than 100 MW of solar capacity from China.

  • Countries with weak grids and low electrification rates, like Nigeria and DR Congo, are expected to be prime destinations for off-grid solar solutions and are likely to attract big funding as investors look for markets where they can scale quickly.

  • Our take: Funding flows into emerging markets show at least a measure of investor confidence … Read more (2 min)

ECN signs MoU and creates national committee to spearhead Nigeria’s shift to renewable energy

Events

🗓️ Participate  in a C&I Energy Efficiency webinar  (Sep 3)

🗓️ Take part in a Building Security and Affordability in Operations webinar (Sep 3)

🗓️ Attend the Battery Metals Forum in DRC  (Sep 29)

Jobs

👨🏻‍💼 Join Sun King as a Customer Fulfilment Specialist (Nigeria)

👩🏻‍💼 Apply for Hatch’s Civil Supervisor position (South Africa)

💼 Lead curriculum and training operations at SunCulture (Kenya)

Various 

⚡ Solar prices have risen by 4.88% over the past two months

☀️ Morocco pilots floating solar panels to help reduce water usage

🔌 Nigeria and Africa receive below-average rankings from the World SDGs body

Seen on LinkedIn 

Elizabeth Nyambura, Solar Energy Consultant at SheSpeaksSolar, says, “ Kenya’s matatu industry is proving that clean energy can thrive even in informal industries and that innovation doesn’t always mean complex tech.”