IOSR Journal of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IOSR-JEEE) e-ISSN: 2278-1676,p-ISSN: 2320-3331, Volume 12, Issue 4 Ver. IV (Jul. – Aug. 2017), PP 11-18 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/1676-1204041118 www.iosrjournals.org 11 | Page Electric Power Consumption Reduction in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Power Network 1 U. O. Orji, 2 T.C.Madueme 1,2 Department of Electrical Engineering University of Nigeria, Nsukka Enugu State, Nigeria Corresponding Author: T.C.Madueme Abstract: The paper addresses the power consumption profile of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The electricity bill of the institution which has existed for over fifty years is N 14.4m on average which the University Administration sees as very excessive. The paper investigates the reasons for this high cost of electricity bills and seeks for ways to reduce these excessive bills. Load audit assessment has been adopted for the study. Audit result obtained shows that obsolete lighting loads were prevalent in the system, and non-lighting loads were based on very old technology which accounted for the high energy consumption. The result of this work shows 83% reduction for both lighting and non-lighting loads audit which translates to an average N 11m cost savings for the monthly electricity bill. The paper shows 58.2% consumption in Staff Quarters, 27.77% in the Hostels while Faculties and the Administrative blocks take 11.85% and 2.18% consumption respectively. Keywords: Consumption, Power, Energy saving, Distribution, Voltage. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 12-04-2017 Date of acceptance: 28-08-2017 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Energy plays the most vital role in the economic growth, progress, and development, as well as poverty eradication and security of any nation. Uninterrupted energy supply is a vital issue for all countries today. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-term availability of energy from sources that are affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly. Other aspects of human‟s life like security, climate change, and public health are closely interrelated with energy. Energy is an important factor in all the sectors of any country‟s economy. The recent world‟s energy crisis is due to two reasons: the rapid population growth and the increase in the living standard of whole societies [1]. Energy supports the provision of basic needs such as cooked food, a comfortable living temperature, lighting, the use of appliances, piped water or sewerage, essential health care (refrigerated vaccines, emergency, and intensive care), educational aids, communication (radio, television, electronic mail, the World Wide Web), and transport. Energy also fuels productive activities including agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, industry, and mining. It can also be said that lack of access to energy contributes to poverty and deprivation and can contribute to the economic decline. Energy and poverty reduction are not only closely connected with each other, but also with the socio-economic development which involves productivity, income growth, education and health. II. Energy Situation in Nigeria Nigeria is Africa‟s energy giant. It is the continent‟s most prolific oil -producing country, which, along with Libya, accounts for two-thirds of Africa‟s crude oil reserves. It ranks second to Algeria in natural gas. Most of Africa‟s bitumen and lignite reserves are found in Nigeria. In its mix of conventional energy reserves, Nigeria is simply unmatched by any other country on the African continent. It is not surprising therefore that energy export is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Also, primary energy resources dominate the nation‟s industrial raw material endowment. Several energy resources are available in Nigeria in abundant proportions. The country possesses the world‟s sixth largest reserve of crude oil. Nigeria has an estimated oil reserve of 36.2 billion barrels. It is increasingly an important gas province with proven reserves of nearly 5,000 billion barrels [2]. The oil and gas reserves are mainly found and located along the Niger Delta, Gulf of Guinea, and Bight of Bonny. Most of the exploration activities are focused in deep and ultra-deep offshore areas with planned activities in the Chad basin, in the northeast. Coal and lignite reserves are estimated to be 2.7 billion tons, while tar sand reserves represent 31 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The identified hydroelectricity sites have an estimated capacity of about 14,250 MW. Nigeria has significant biomass resources to meet both traditional and modern energy uses, including electricity generation. There has been a supply and demand gap as a result of the inadequate development and inefficient management of the energy sector. The supply of electricity, the country‟s most used energy resource, has been erratic. The electricity system in Nigeria centers on Power