Empirical Analysis of the Health and Environmental Costs of Generator Use in Lagos Urban Households

This study empirically analyses the health and environmental costs of diesel and petrol generator use in urban households in Lagos State, South West Nigeria, providing quantified evidence to support the energy access and environmental management policy case for grid electricity improvement and renewable energy alternatives. Lagos households collectively operate millions of small generators to compensate for unreliable grid supply, creating substantial localised air pollution, noise, and greenhouse gas emissions, but the aggregate environmental and health burden has not been systematically quantified. A representative sample of 500 households across six Local Government Areas in Lagos was surveyed to characterise generator type, power output, daily operating hours, and fuel consumption. Emission factors from published literature and primary measurements were applied to calculate household-level emissions of PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Health burden estimation used concentration-response functions from the Global Burden of Disease study applied to ambient PM2.5 concentration estimates derived from modelling of generator density maps. Economic cost estimation applied willingness-to-pay values for avoided premature mortality and morbidity. Results indicate that generator use in the survey sample emits an annual average of 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per household, contributing approximately 62 kilograms of PM2.5 per household annually. Estimated aggregate health costs attributable to generator PM2.5 emissions in Lagos reach 340 billion naira annually when monetised at disability-adjusted life year values. Noise costs are an additional identified but less-quantified burden. The study provides economic evidence for accelerating Lagos grid reliability investments. Keywords: generator pollution, household energy, Lagos, health costs, greenhouse gas.