AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACTS OF POWER OUTAGE ON CONSUMERS IN NIGERIA

Joseph Afolabi Ibikunle and Adebayo, Emmanuel. O.

Department of Economics, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo

Department of Economics, Bowen University, Iwo

E-mail: toy4kuns@yahoo.com, jeedayicon@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

The World Bank is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of halving global poverty by 2015 and a stable power supply as well. As the international community measures its progress toward that goal, it must have solid and credible statistics that show where we are advancing and where we are falling behind. This study is carried out to critically analyze the economic consequences of power outage on consumers (Household, commercial and industrial consumers) in Nigeria. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) techniques is employed in carrying out the study. It was discovered that there are significant negative consequences of power outages on the consumers’ income, industrial output and commercial activities in Nigeria both in the short and the long run. The current power sector reforms were investigated and the study recommends that this should be done with much seriousness and transparent honesty. The current move to privatization of the sector, which is beclouded by emotion, myopic consideration and self-interest, is not acceptable. And as such, strong position should be taken by agitators on the need to deal with the issue seriously in order for the economy to be able to achieve the desired goal of uninterrupted power supply before 2015.