Nigeria

Getting Electricity in

Nigeria

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building in Nigeria.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

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  • Standardized Company

  • Name of Utility: Eko Distribution Company
  • City: Lagos

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to Eko Distribution Company and await clearance letter

The licensed electrical contractor acts on customer’s behalf. All electrical contractors have to be licensed with the Federal Ministry for Power and Steel. Correspondence takes place between contractor and utility. Payments are made to utility by contractor who then bills the customer. Upon receipt of application, the utility sends a tentative letter of clearance for purchase of distribution transformer and other external connection materials. It mentions in the letter the description of the materials (must be new, purchased from accredited distributor and receipt produced, test certificate of transformer from manufacturer produced).
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		120 calendar days no charge
2 Receive tentative approval letter from Eko Distribution Company, submit payment and request and receive site visit from utility engineer

Upon receipt of application, the utility sends a tentative letter of clearance for purchase of distribution transformer and other external connection materials. It mentions in the letter the description of the materials (must be new, purchased from accredited distributor and receipt produced, test certificate of transformer from manufacturer produced). The survey fee is for the site visit which the utility engineer will do. The payment is for scheme and sanction preparation. The request for site visit is made over the phone to the utility. The engineer verifies that the materials purchased are of good quality. The delay is because no facilitation fees have been paid, and the entire connection process is delayed by the utility.
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		31 calendar days NGN 10,000.0
3 Purchase and install external connection equipment

Customer needs to purchase cables, distribution transformer, and installation accessories from market
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		18 calendar days NGN 1,559,250.0
* 4 Request and receive inspection from Inspecting Engineer, Federal Ministry of Power and Steel

The Inspecting Engineer inspects and tests the installation, and prepares inspection certificate. A letter has to be delivered to the Ministry requesting inspection. Upon receipt of the letter, the ministry official sets a date of inspection. The contractor has to be present on the site during the inspection. The inspection certificate is filled up on the spot, but not given to the contractor.
Agency: Ministry of Mines and Power 		14 calendar days no charge
5 Submit payment to Federal Ministry of Power and Steel and pick up the Inspection Certificate

This is the standard fee for inspection. This fee varies for each district. The fee is paid by check at the Ministry.
Agency: Ministry of Mines and Power 		1 calendar day NGN 10,000.0
6 Submit inspection certificate to Eko Distribution Company, request and receive estimate letter from utility and make payment

The customer can go to the utility to pick up the estimate letter. The estimate letter is usually prepared on the spot when the contractor requests it. If no facilitation fee is paid, then this procedure is greatly delayed. The contractor then makes the payment mentioned in the letter, and also submits the inspection certificate from the Ministry to the utility.
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		30 calendar days NGN 193,500.0
7 Eko Distribution Company conducts internal wiring inspection and tests complete installation

The utility engineer conducts the internal wiring inspection within a week after the estimate is paid. The delay is because no facilitation fees have been paid, and the entire connection process is delayed.
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		30 calendar days no charge
8 Eko Distribution Company conducts meter installation and electricity starts flowing

Once the internal wiring inspection is complete, the utility sends over the connection team to do the meter installation and then turns on electricity flow. The delay is because no facilitation fees have been paid, and the entire connection process is delayed.
Agency: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 		30 calendar days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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