Kitchen Vegetable Oil Limited has cut its energy costs in half by switching to an off-grid gas-powered solution, becoming one of many Nigerian manufacturers turning away from the unstable national grid.
Faced with repeated grid failures and rising energy bills, the Aba-based company—part of Udeagbala Holdings—opted for a 1.7 megawatt (MW) gas plant two years ago.
Since then, it says the move has significantly boosted operations and reduced expenses.“The gas plant now provides cleaner, more reliable electricity and has reduced our operating costs.
We only use diesel generators as backup,” said Ifeyinwa Udeagbala, Executive Director of the company.
The plant was developed in collaboration with Clarke Energy, which supplied and installed Jenbacher gensets and continues to offer maintenance support.
Gas is sourced both from a major international oil company’s pipeline and through compressed natural gas (CNG) from virtual suppliers.
Despite this success, Udeagbala noted that manufacturers still face a host of other challenges, including inflation, raw material instability, and sky-high interest rates.“We need significant capital to keep running, but high bank interest rates are cutting into profits and slowing growth,” she said.
She also pointed to issues with counterfeit materials, import delays, and inconsistent tax enforcement across states.Clarke Energy’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Yiannis Tsantilas, said unreliable power supply remains a major drag on Nigeria’s industrial potential.
“Energy costs can account for nearly 40 per cent of manufacturers’ expenses,” Tsantilas stated, citing figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
Despite the hurdles, Kitchen Vegetable Oil continues to employ over 200 staff and is exploring expansion into neighboring African markets—though it remains cautious about border policies and the risk of spoilage during transit.
“We feel a strong responsibility to keep our people in jobs, especially with the unemployment rate being so high,” Udeagbala added.
The company attributes its resilience to strict quality control and strong supplier partnerships. “We have turned down poor-quality shipments to protect both our products and our equipment,” she said.
