By Oke Peter
Long before Nigeria became independent and decades before the country’s electricity crisis became a national concern, electricity had already arrived in what is now Nigeria.
Did you know that electricity generation in Nigeria dates back to the 1890s, when a small power-generating system was established in Lagos during the colonial era?
HMS Raleigh, the British warship whose electric projectors illuminated part of Lagos in March 1886, giving Lagos residents an early public encounter with electric light. Photo: OUP Academic
Historical records show that the development began in 1896, when the colonial authorities approved an electricity scheme and acquired generating equipment for Lagos. However, the first equipment installed that year was found to be technically unsuitable. The Public Works Department (PWD) subsequently developed a functioning system, which was put into operation in December 1897. The first power station was then opened in 1898.
This makes Lagos the birthplace of electricity generation in Nigeria.
The project was undertaken by the Public Works Department of the colonial government, rather than a private Nigerian electricity company. Historical research shows that the electricity scheme received official approval in 1895, while the Crown Agents were authorised to accept a tender worth £8,595 for the supply of the electrical plant, excluding shipping and other associated costs.
How much electricity did it generate?
By modern standards, the generating capacity was extraordinarily small. The functioning installation consisted of two 30-kilowatt generating units, giving a combined capacity of approximately 60 kW. Another detailed historical study describes the system as consisting of two 30 kW, 1,000-volt, 80-cycle, single-phase units.
•The team members of HMS Raleigh. Photo: OUP Academic
To put that figure into perspective, 60 kW is only 0.06 megawatts (MW).
Today, a single medium-sized power facility can have a generating capacity running into hundreds of megawatts. Nigeria's entire electricity system now operates on a completely different scale. But in the late nineteenth century, the tiny Lagos installation represented a remarkable technological development.
Where was the electricity used?
The initial electricity supply was not designed to electrify Lagos as a whole. It was primarily intended to provide lighting for important government facilities and selected parts of the colonial settlement. Historical research indicates that the Government House was among the first buildings to receive electric lighting, followed by the colonial hospital. By 1898, parts of Lagos Marina were also being illuminated between approximately 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
In 1899, maximum demand was reported at about 24 kW, showing that actual consumption was still considerably below the plant's combined 60 kW capacity. As demand increased, another generating unit was installed in 1902. By 1909, installed capacity had risen to about 120 kW, while registered demand had reached approximately 65 kW.
Electricity came before Nigeria became a country
There is another fascinating aspect of this story. The electricity project predates Nigeria's 1914 amalgamation by more than a decade. In other words, electricity was already being generated in Lagos before the territory officially became the entity known as Nigeria.
The development also came decades before the establishment of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in 1951, which later became an important institution in the development of the national electricity system.
The early Lagos plant was therefore not a national grid in the modern sense. It was a small, localised electricity system serving a limited population and specific facilities.
Yet its historical significance cannot be understated.
From two 30 kW generating units in colonial Lagos to today's multi-gigawatt electricity system, Nigeria's power sector has travelled a remarkable distance.
