Telcos Burn N860bn On Diesel In One Year To Keep Networks Alive

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LAGOS – Telecom operators in the country fueled their opera­tions with diesel worth N860 billion in 2025.

According to the Africa Fi­nance Corporation’s State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025, Nigerian telecom oper­ators collectively consume over 40 million litres of diesel monthly, more than 480 mil­lion litres annually, with sec­tor-wide spending estimated at over $350 million per year.

A breakdown of the en­ergy consumption indicated that the operators spent an estimated N72 billion every month just to keep network towers powered with diesel.

The figure is expected to fall lower than what the indus­try would likely record in 2026 due to the ongoing energy crisis occasioned by the US/ Israel and Iran war which has caused a sharp spike in global oil prices.

Over the years, telecom service providers have been expressing concerns over the rising cost of energy which they say takes a huge toll on the financial bottomline.

It is common knowledge that almost all the infrastruc­ture system of the operators run heavily on fuel because of the unreliable nature of public electricity which has become a backup for gener­ators and other sources of power like solar.

Last year, there were re­cords of national grid collaps­es, unstable electricity and inconsistent power supply. These incidents forced tele­com companies to significant­ly rely on diesel generators to keep their base stations active.

Speaking on the devel­opment at a recent indus­try forum, the Executive Vice-Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commis­sion (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, disclosed that operators con­sume over 40 million litres of diesel every month to keep over 30,000 base stations across the country alive and maintain network stability.

According to Maida, “The industry consumes over 40 million litres of diesel month­ly. With the Dangote refinery now on-stream, we expect some relief. But if we don’t diversify beyond diesel, the sustainability of the sector remains at risk.”

Industry observers have linked the energy challenges to the reason why subscribers continue to experience poor network quality- slow inter­net, dropped calls or unstable service.

Apart from the service quality consequences, the rising cost of diesel has be­come more concerning than an industry headache. High energy costs are eroding operators’ margins, stalling network expansion, wors­ening service quality, and threatening price hikes that could lock millions out of the digital ecosystem.

The high and increasing cost of energy being incurred by telecom operators is redi­recting them to increasing­ly explore alternatives like gas-powered systems, solar energy, inverter solutions, and shared infrastructure models to reduce diesel dependence.

Last year, MTN, would have spent much higher on diesel, but for its shift to­ward gas-powered electricity and inverter systems which helped the operator to save some billions of naira in op­erational costs in 2025.

MTN, the country’s lead­ing service provider operates more than 20,000 base stations nationwide, most of which run on diesel generators due to persistent grid instability.

According to the Africa Finance Corporation’s State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025, as cited in the company’s results, Nigerian telecom operators collec­tively consume over 40 mil­lion litres of diesel monthly, more than 480 million litres annually, with sector-wide spending estimated at over $350 million per year.

MTN Nigeria Chief Exec­utive Officer, Dr Karl Toriola, said: “Increasing geopolitical tensions between US and Iran towards the end of the quar­ter drove higher energy prices globally, adding that the re­newed inflationary pressure across energy-linked sectors has impacted the company’s financial base.

This underscores the im­pact of rising diesel costs on operations, as energy remains a significant component of op­erating expenses across the telecoms sector.