Lighting a dark continent

摘要

The stylishly dressed men and women window-shopping in the air-conditioned cool of the Lagos Palms shopping mall speak of a Nigerian economy and middle class on the rise. But out the back, the stench of diesel fumes hanging heavily in the muggy tropical air is evidence of failings that are holding back Africa's biggest economy: banks of diesel generators chug away to supply eye-wateringly expensive power because Nigeria's rickety national grid is so unreliable. Across Africa investors joke about living in a "bring-your-own-infrastructure" continent, in which firms must provide independent generators, water purification and even sewage treatment when building a factory or hotel. Of these the costliest is often power. Nigeria, which has a population three times larger than South Africa's, generates just a tenth as much electricity. Power from private generators costs $0.35 per kilowatt-hour or more, ten times more than electricity from the grid in most other countries. Analysts at Coronation, a South African asset manager, reckon electricity accounts for 6% of costs at Nigeria's biggest banks (each branch needs a generator) and 10% of the costs of telephone companies (each cellphone mast must have its own power).