ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSUMPTION IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS. A CASE STUDY OF IKEJA, LAGOS

Nigeria remains a country with very high potential but an equally high inertia to develop, electricity issue has always and never stopped being a challenge in the country in both the rural and urban areas. The electricity sector’s performance in Nigeria has not been one to provide a 100% desired expectations or impact on the growth and development of the economy as a result of the numerous setbacks they face. Research has shown that Electricity consumption in residential buildings have been faced with hike in prices and there is a huge difference between the demand for it and its supply. This study aims to critically examine the effect of electricity consumption in residential areas and its impact on prices and policies placed by the electricity sector and the government enabling policies. Relying on existing data, the question still remains
– will a change in prices and policies cause a change electricity consumption in residential buildings in Nigeria? To further explain, electricity consumption is the usage of power supplied from the enabling authority at a specified rate or charge.
From literature review on electricity consumption in residential areas and charges, online questionnaires were created with the use of google forms and distributed to households in Ikeja to be precise. A total of 100 responses were gotten from the respondents on their take on electricity usage, policies, global warming and situational changes on electricity and government policies in regulating them. From the data analysis of responses of respondents, it is deduced that there is a relationship between electricity usage and charges and the demand and supply for electricity. The result of the analysis shows that charges of electricity have an impact
on the its consumption in households in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that households should consider moderate usage of electricity by making use of energy saving bulbs and regulate their usage to control heat generation.