14 Page 14-23 © MAT Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences Volume 3 Issue 3 Dynamics of Residential Electricity Consumption in Nigeria 1 Dr Obinna J.Ubani, 2 Dr. Lucy N. Ugwu 1 Lecturer, 2 Ph.D. Scholor, Department of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria Email: 1 obinna.ubani@unn.edu.ng Abstract The continuous residential electricity supply problems in Nigeria are attributable to the inability of energy planners to accurately forecast the effect of the various socio-economic and physical factors that influence residential electricity consumption across the country. The major problem with the existing forecasts of electricity consumption is often assumed to be associated with poor identification of these socio-economic and physical factors upon which they are based. The goal of this study is to empirically determine the various factors that affect the residential electricity consumption rate in Nigeria. The study covers an annual time series data from 1985 to 2016. Data for the study was collected through secondary sources. Multiple Linear Regression was used to test the research hypothesis. The result suggests that residential electricity consumption was significantly related to the eight of the nine socio- economic and physical factors of this consumption rate studied at 0.01 level (R 2 = 0.92). These are per capita income, degree of urbanization, population density, Number of households per capita, Price of Kerosene, number of households with electricity, Temperature, and employment rate. These eight variables are significantly in determining the residential electricity consumption in Nigeria. Policies based on the outcome of this study will produce positive and sound policy actions. . Keywords: Electricity, Consumption, Residential INTRODUCTION The energy sector, apart from serving as the pillar of wealth creation in Nigeria, is also the nucleus of operation and consequently the engine of growth for all sectors of the economy between 1970- 2011, residential electricity consumption of electricity in the country increased from 752 million kWh to 8576.3 million kWh (1). Given the current trends in population growth, industrialization, urbanization, modernization and income growth, residential electricity consumption is expected to increase substantially in the coming decades as well. All these require matching supply of infrastructure and public service to ensure sustainability. There has been continuous increase in the budget allocation given to the Nigeria electricity industry (2), and the government has imported many power transformers, circuit breakers and high tension cables. All these have not adequately improved the electricity crisis experienced across the country. The continuous electricity supply problems in most residential areas of the country can be attributable to the inability of energy planners to accurately understand as well as forecast properly the socio-economic and physical determinants of electricity consumption in Nigeria.(3). The need for more accurate estimates of key residential electricity consumption parameters are explained by the reason that a more robust estimates of residential electricity consumption parameters is essential for more informed and successful electricity policy decision making and implementation in Nigeria. Various studies had commonly considered variables like household disposable