A turning point in the north: from promises to pressing realities
Agadez. A decisive shift is underway in northern Niger, where a breakthrough in addressing water and electricity access remains elusive despite official declarations and announcements of new energy capacities. On the ground, in several localities, populations have been grappling with two essential needs—water and electricity—for the past two months. This moment demands urgent action, as the gap between rhetoric and reality widens.
Entire cities plunged into darkness
For several months, the energy situation has remained particularly strained in the Agadez region. Agadez, Arlit, and Tchirozérine have faced repeated disruptions to their electricity supply. In May, regional authorities themselves acknowledged the existence of disruptions in the provision of electricity and water and dispatched officials to the national electricity company and the national water utility to examine the situation.
The problem is no longer a simple occasional outage. In July, repeated load shedding was still reported in Arlit, to the point of disrupting the operation of health services. Local authorities had to visit the health district to assess the consequences of these cuts on care.
In Agadez, Arlit, and Tchirozérine, the national electricity company had also announced load shedding linked to maintenance work on infrastructure at the SONICHAR coal plant.
But for residents, a technical explanation does not change the reality of daily life: when the power disappears, homes, businesses, and certain essential services are plunged into darkness.
In some more isolated localities, residents even report much longer periods without electricity, potentially lasting several weeks. These testimonies deserve to be verified locality by locality, but they give a measure of the feeling of abandonment expressed by some populations.
When electricity fails, water becomes even harder to find
The energy problem exacerbates the water crisis. The two crises are linked: when pumping installations depend on electricity and it fails, the water supply can in turn be affected.
In Agadez, officials from the national water utility had acknowledged in May that available production was insufficient to cover the population’s needs. Production then reached approximately 19,500 m³, while needs exceeded this capacity.
A few weeks later, the situation was still described as worrying. Information published in July reported a simultaneous shortage of drinking water, electricity, domestic gas, and fuel in the main towns of the region.
For some residents, the consequence is particularly brutal: when running water is lacking, other sources must be sought. In areas where alternative solutions are limited, populations may be forced to turn to ponds to meet their daily needs.
National figures do not tell the whole story
The Nigerien government nevertheless claims to want to strengthen electricity production. In July, the Minister of Energy announced a national installed capacity of 420 MW, for an effectively available power of 294 MW. But the same presentation showed that the Northern zone had only 16 MW of available power.
This is precisely where one of the central questions lies: increasing national capacities is not enough if, in remote areas, electricity does not reach households regularly.
The contrast is therefore striking between national announcements and the reality reported in certain northern towns.
Two basic needs, one same question
Water and electricity are not secondary services. They condition health, economic activity, education, the operation of businesses, and simply living conditions.
The regime of General Abdourahamane Tiani can highlight investments, new energy capacities, or infrastructure projects. But on the ground, populations also judge results based on a much simpler reality: is there water at the tap? Is there electricity when night falls?
In several localities in northern Niger, these questions remain manifestly open.
And when families have to wait for days, or according to some testimonies several weeks, to regain normal electricity supply, while access to water remains insufficient, the promise of change collides with a reality that is difficult to hide.
Northern Niger does not only ask for announcements. It asks for water, light, and services that work.