Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is under heavy financial pressure due to its growing reliance on diesel-powered generators, with operators spending more than $350 million (over ₦500 billion) annually to fuel their base stations. This burden is a result of poor electricity supply, especially in rural and underserved parts of the country.
According to the 2025 State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report released by the Africa Finance Corporation, telecom operators in Nigeria burn through over 40 million litres of diesel every month. This massive diesel consumption is mainly used to power telecom tower sites and base stations due to the unreliable national grid.
The report highlighted that the situation is worse in rural areas, where mobile base stations require 37% more energy than in urban centres due to distance, lower traffic volumes, and the use of older network technologies like 3G. It explained that, on average, mobile data in Africa consumes 0.24 kWh per gigabyte—well above the global average of 0.17 kWh/GB—resulting in higher energy demand and cost.
“A growing number of tower sites going off-grid or relying on diesel generators is a cause of concern,” the report said. “This drives up capital and operating expenses for operators, making investments in rural communities even harder to justify.”
In Nigeria, operators are also battling widespread theft of diesel and battery equipment at off-grid tower sites, further increasing the operational risks and losses. As a result, some telecom companies are beginning to rework their energy strategies.
The Chief Technical Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Harmanpreet Dhillon, recently confirmed that connecting more base stations to the national electricity grid is now a top priority. According to him, the telecom company spends as much as ₦28 billion monthly on diesel.
“The most important factor for us here in Nigeria is the grid,” Dhillon stated. “Our first goal is to connect all of our sites to the grid. Once we achieve this, we’ll reduce our reliance on generators, which in turn will cut down our diesel consumption.”
Similarly, Airtel’s Director of Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Femi Adeniran, told journalists in Lagos that rising diesel prices have worsened the company’s monthly energy costs, with telcos spending approximately ₦71.3 billion monthly on diesel nationwide.
The situation is not limited to telecom firms alone. Nigeria’s poor electricity supply has forced millions of households and businesses to rely on petrol and diesel generators for daily power needs. The report by the Africa Finance Corporation noted that this has widened the country’s energy gap and slowed development across critical sectors.
The AFC report also pointed out that closing the gap in energy infrastructure and digital access will require major investment. Nigeria, alongside Egypt and Kenya, is seen as a digital hub on the continent, but the report estimates that Africa needs $7 billion in yearly investment to bridge the continent-wide digital infrastructure gap.
To address part of this, Nigeria is rolling out a major fibre optic expansion programme. The country currently has 35,000 kilometres of backbone fibre and plans to add 90,000km through a public-private partnership. The goal is to enhance broadband speed and coverage nationwide.
Despite these efforts, the country still struggles with poor connectivity in rural and remote communities, where limited access to broadband and electricity are serious hurdles.
Telecom operators say aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, is now part of their long-term strategy. Many are exploring solar energy and hybrid systems as cost-effective alternatives to diesel.
As digital inclusion becomes more important for Nigeria’s economic growth, the rising cost of keeping base stations powered could affect data affordability, network expansion, and overall quality of service for millions of Nigerians.
