Worsening Energy Costs Force Manufacturing Closures Across South East

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has sounded an urgent alarm over the rapidly deteriorating state of industrial production in the Southeast region of Nigera.

Spiraling energy tariffs, coupled with zero access to affordable credit lines, have created an unsustainable operating landscape, forcing several localized production plants to completely halt their operations.

The economic warning was delivered during the high-level MAN South-East Stakeholders’ Industry Conversation held in Awka, Anambra State.

The emergency forum brought regional business leaders, utility regulators, and state policymakers together to confront severe lack of transparency in electricity distribution and arbitrary billing structures.

The Chairperson of MAN for Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi states, Lady Ada Chukwudozie, explained that the few surviving manufacturing plants across the industrial belt are currently operating at a fraction of their potential.

High diesel prices and sudden jumps in electricity bands have completely stripped local manufacturers of their competitive edge.

“The few factories still operating were doing so at less than 30 per cent of installed capacity due to soaring electricity tariffs, high energy costs and limited access to credit facilities,” Chukwudozie disclosed to attendees. “The manufacturing sector cannot thrive in an environment of uncertainty.”

Call for Immediate Remedial Action

The regional manufacturing community is demanding immediate intervention from federal and state regulatory commissions to enforce measurable service delivery targets on regional electricity distribution companies (DisCos).

Industrial clusters have reported constant grid drops despite being placed on high-premium tariff structures that promise near-continuous power.

MAN is now pushing for a structured performance framework that binds energy suppliers to strict accountability measures, including financial penalties when utility providers fail to meet minimum uptime standards.

“We need reforms in the power sector to be driven by transparency, accountability and measurable performance standards, including agreed electricity supply hours, actual delivery levels and compensation mechanisms where supply consistently falls below expectations,” the MAN regional leader added.

The widespread closure of manufacturing plants in the Southeast threatens to trigger mass retrenchment across regional supply lines, worsening the local unemployment situation.

Industrialists at the Awka summit warned that if immediate tariff stabilization measures are not implemented, consumer goods production will continue to plummet, driving further localized market inflation.

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