As Substandard ACs Flood Nigerian Markets

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), Dr. Adeleke Mamora, has lampooned and bemoan the efficiency of Air conditioners (ACs) utilized in the country for having less energy efficiency ratio (EER).

Speaking at a National Stakeholders’ Consultative Workshop on Energy Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in Nigeria, organized by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Mamora said that ACs used in Nigeria fall below internationally acceptable minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), adding that the importance of the workshop on scaling up energy- efficient and climate-friendly cooling in Nigeria could not be over-emphasized.

According to the Minister “It is a fact that Nigeria is the largest market in Africa and this applies to the cooling sector also. With the current growing population, combined with improving lifestyle, urbanization and rising global warming, Nigeria will continue to experience growing demand for ACs, refrigerators and other cooling devices, thus, becoming one of the fastest growing ACs and refrigerators market in the world”.

“Unfortunately, most of the ACs utilized in the country have energy efficiency ratio (EER) below internationally acceptable minimum energy performance standards (MEPS),” Mamora said.

He said that Nigeria, through its National Energy Policy and Climate Protocols had joined the rest of the world to recognize energy efficiency as one of the most cost-effective means of providing energy security.

The minister said energy efficiency could increase economic productivity, reduce local air pollution, and help mitigate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

According to him, its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), an unconditional greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of 20 per cent and a conditional reduction target of 47 per cent below the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 2030 were set.

“To achieve this, energy efficiency best practices across all sectors, as one of the climate change mitigating priority measures, has set conditional target of 2.5 per cent per year reduction in energy intensity”, Mamora said.

The Director-General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) Prof. Eli Jidere, in his contribution at the workshop said 80 per cent of electricity supplied in Nigeria is from fossil energy, the greatest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

He said ECN with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), had in 2017 conducted an energy audit of selected public buildings in Abuja.

According to him, the study showed that over 60 per cent of electricity consumed in public buildings was from space cooling.

According to him “It should also be noted that 80 per cent of electricity supply in Nigeria is from fossil energy. The greatest emitter of CO₂ emissions. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” is also anchored on the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency as key pillars.”

Expectedly, a committee to provide general guidance on efficient energy implementation with focus on data collection, data analysis for updating MEPS, the ACs market monitoring and verification training was set up at the workshop.

Members of the committee include the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Federal Ministry of Environment (Dept. of Climate Change (DCC) and National Ozone Office (NOO) as well as the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS.