Electricity Use For Hotel Facilities In Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The world is shifting to using renewable energy sources, largely to mitigate climate change. In addition, the uncertainty in the global oil and gas sector is pushing Nigeria’s policy to diversify into other sectors like tourism and recreation to develop the economy. Some non-oil producing states in Nigeria especially, are looking at the hotel industry as a viable diversification option. However, this sector requires energy as the backbone of its operations and these facilities are located in energy-poor states where the most prevalent mode of backup power supply is by using diesel generators. To plan a shift to a cleaner energy supply, it is important to have accurate information on the energy consumption patterns of these tourism facilities. This research aims to evaluate electricity consumption and supply patterns in hotels in a non-oil-producing state in northern Nigeria. The methodology involves conducting energy audits in three selected facilities, which are classified as small, medium, and large in Kebbi state. Analyses on demand versus supply, energy disaggregation, and energy use intensity were conducted. The results show that none of the facilities has a renewable electric energy supply. All three hotels have their energy demand higher than the energy supplied with a 5% energy supply deficit in the case of the large and medium facilities, and up to 23% deficit for the small facility. The consumption is disaggregated into HVAC loads, plug loads, water supply loads and lighting loads with each factor having an average percentage of energy consumption of 58%, 18%, 18% and 6% respectively which is met solely with electricity. An annual Energy Use Intensity of 145.21kWh/m2, 380.19kWh/m2 and 232.40kWh/m2 is calculated for the small, medium and large facilities respectively, with an average value of 166kWh/m2. The results show a clear indication of the need for an energy efficiency intervention to match supply to demand.