Overview on the Problems of Rural Electrification in Bayelsa State

Technical Report from the year 2011 in the subject Engineering - Power Engineering, grade: A, Atlantic International University (Niger Delta University), course: PRE 677, language: English, abstract: Rural electrification is a global challenge especially in the developing countries. The problem of rural electrification is acute in Nigeria because the country has not been able to provide adequate supply to the connected consumers. The case of Bayelsa State is peculiar because the geographical position of the state offer various problems to rural electrification. The state is bounded by rivers, estuaries, creeks and stagnant swamps that pose problems to rural electrification in terms of settlements, accessible roads, good available means of transport etc.The climatic conditions and flooding are factors militating against the rapid growth of this area. Lack of industrial customers, low load forecast and very long distances from the grid with huge cost of installation, maintenance and operations are key factors.Bayelsa State is dissected centrally by longitude 6° East and latitude 4.5° North. Bayelsa State with a population of 1,121,693 spread over a land area of 12,000 sq kilometer most of which is water or wet lands. Its definitive boarder is the 185 kilometer of coast line through which its many rivers issue into the Atlantic Ocean. There are few big cities due to the flooding and erosion and some are almost cut off from the capital due to the area of settlement.Bayelsa State is located in the heart of the Niger Delta and is one of the central areas that produce the resources (Oil and Gas) which account for about 97 percent of the National total earning (Sambo 2008). The operational base of the oil companies are not located within the source of the revenue, thereby making the place poor, rejected with no impact of such huge revenue taken out of this areas. These areas of Bayelsa State was regarded as rural areas before the creation of the state, therefore it has little or no development. The Oil Companies contributed to the level of poverty because the administrative headquarter of these companies are out of state and are far from the source of the oil deposit. The outcome of this was denial of the people from all social amenities, unemployment, rejection, poverty and devastation of the ecological sources due to spillages and gas flaring.Due to the outcry, the government is trying to put certain things in place for the development of the Niger Delta, therefore it is necessary to study the problems facing the environment so that policies, designs and construction will be based on facts concerning the development of the area.