EXCLUSIVE: Tesla denies plans to offer home battery system, Powerwall, in Nigeria

Tesla denies news report about its entrance into Nigerian energy market.
Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing tells Business Insider SSA by Pulse that he has no knowledge of such plan.
Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage products manufactured by Tesla, Inc.

Tesla has denied plans to enter into the Nigerian energy market with its home battery system, Powerwall, the company told Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa on Monday.

News report filtered across the country on Monday as Nigerians felt the hope of having another option away from the DisCos/GenCos inept power supply in Africa's most populous nation with electricity problems.

The reports quoting Alex Okoh, the head of Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), in a statement said Tesla is planning to take advantage of the country's power outage with its Powerwall systems.

“They (DisCos) lacked the capacity to improve infrastructures.”

It went further to state that, “TESLA’s introduction could take advantage of palpable outrage in a country where over 190 million people share barely 400MW of power”, the report states.

A Tesla Powerwall battery hangs in the garage. It charges using electricity generated from the solar panels and powers the home through the evening when the sun is gone. BusinessInsider

Telsa has no plan to enter Nigeria energy market

Anouska Ruane, Tesla's spokesperson for EMEA, in an exclusive interview with Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa by Pulse on Monday, January 21, 2019, said there are no current plans to expand to Nigeria or offer its home battery system Powerwall in the country.

“We have no current plans to offer our home battery system Powerwall in Nigeria. Tesla does work with project developers and utilities internationally, including across Africa, where our commercial battery system Powerpack can help support renewable energy and improve the reliability of electricity supply, both on- and off-grid.”

Nigeria's minister of power says there are no such plans

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola during inspection of a power project (2016) ece-auto-gen

The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, says there are no such plans at the moment.

“There are no current talks with Tesla, the only body we know is NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) and if there is any of such plan NERC should be aware,” Hakeem Bello, Fashola’s aide told Business Insider SSA by Pulse.

Tesla's Powerwall

A view of Tesla's Powerpacks at a Southern California Edison substation in Mira Loma, California. BusinessInsider

Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage products manufactured by Tesla, Inc. The Powerwall is intended to be used for home energy storage and stores electricity for solar self-consumption, time of use load shifting, backup power, and off-the-grid use. It also has a larger Powerpack for commercial use.

According to a report, the cost to install one Powerwall unit is $3,000 a small size for residential use, while the commercial unit the cost to install one Powerwall 2 jumped to $5,500.