Nigeria’s telecommunication industry is ladened with huge operational costs, costs, driven largely by its dependence on diesel-powered generators.

According to the Africa Finance Corporation’s (AFC) State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025, operators in the sector consume over 40 million litres of diesel monthly, and culminating into an annual expenditure exceeding $350 million.

The report read, “Significant amounts of reliable electricity are critical for data centres, mobile networks (tower sites), cloud computing and broadband services. As the demand for digital services explodes, so does the demand for reliable energy. Artificial Intelligence for instance requires increasingly powerful chips and cooling systems that are driving an exponential growth in energy demand within developed markets.

“A growing number of tower sites going off-grid or relying on diesel generators is a cause of concern for several reasons. First, it increases CAPEX and OPEX costs for operators, making investments in rural and remote areas even more prohibitive. In fact, GSMA Intelligence estimates that the energy cost of a mobile base station in rural areas could be 37% more than in urban areas. In Nigeria, for instance, telecom operators consume over 40 million litres of diesel per month, representing a yearly spending of over $350 million.

“Mobile broadband costs are further exacerbated by the higher amount of energy required to power data traffic in Africa (0.24 kWh/ GB compared to a global average of 0.17 kWh/GB), where lower traffic volumes and use of older technologies like 3G are energy inefficient. Second, tower sites that rely on generators and batteries report frequent theft of battery equipment and diesel.

“In light of the scale of energy supply required to power modern digital infrastructure, Africa’s high energy costs, grid instability and repeated loadshedding create major operating challenges for digital infrastructure growth.

“Energy solutions must also be found for mobile broadband penetration, especially for telecom tower sites.”

The report also noted that due to Nigeria’s energy challenge, its citizens are forced to seek alternative solutions.

It read, “In Nigeria, unreliable public supply has pushed millions of households and firms to rely on petrol and diesel generators. Captive generation is especially widespread among industrial and commercial users.”