The World Bank has warned that the growing reliance on air conditioning (AC) to cope with rising temperatures could put severe pressure on electricity grids in Nigeria and other developing countries, particularly those with weak or limited power infrastructure.
This warning comes from the World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development, recently released by the World Bank.
The report notes that as global temperatures rise, demand for cooling is accelerating, especially in rapidly urbanizing and low-income regions.
While active cooling particularly air conditioning remains one of the most effective ways to adapt to extreme heat, it is also highly energy intensive.
“As adoption increases, it will increasingly strain power grids, especially in regions with limited electricity infrastructure,” the World Bank noted.
The report also highlights opportunities for efficiency improvements.
It notes, “Evidence from India, Indonesia, and Nigeria shows that doubling the energy efficiency of room air conditioners by 2030 could reduce their life-cycle costs by 60 percent and provide an additional 320 million people with access to them by 2050,” the report noted.
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To address this challenge, the Bank emphasised the importance of policy tools such as minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and building codes. It said combining these measures allows governments to develop flexible, context-specific solutions that reflect local climate conditions, housing types, and income levels.
In March 2025, the federal government approved new minimum energy performance standards for air conditioners as part of efforts to curb rising electricity demand and emissions.
According to the World Bank, these standards are projected to save about 11.5 terawatt-hours of electricity annually and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) had put plans in place to ensure rural communities have access to energy-efficient and electric-productive equipment as part of efforts in implementing its Productive Use Equipment and Appliance (PUE).
- The flagship initiative tagged Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) aims to provide 24,500 Micro Small and Medium Entreprises (MSMEs) with energy-efficient productive use appliances.
- Recent data from the REA indicates that the country needs at least 5 million off-grid solar systems to serve unpowered and underserved communities.
Experts estimate that deploying just half of that target could generate millions of certified emission reductions (CERs) annually—each tradable for foreign exchange and investment inflows.
