Lagosians, business owners lament poor power supply, task DisCos on statutory responsibilities

*Lagosians and the Energy Consumer Rights advocates have urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to call the Ikeja Electric and Eko DisCos to perform their statutory responsibilities through adequate electricity supply to homes, offices and businesses to minimise socio-economic losses arising from blackouts

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Amid the fuel scarcity resulting from the recent withdrawal of ‘methanol-blended’ petrol in several parts of the country, many residents and business owners in Lagos State have lamented the epileptic electricity supply to consumers by Ikeja Electric (IKEDC) Plc and Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) respectively.

ConsumerConnect reports the electricity supply to several parts of Lagos State, which is Nigeria’s commercial capital, has dwindled over the past weeks.

The consumers and other stakeholders in the corporate world in the business hub of the West African country have decried the worsening electricity supply situation, further  worsened by the ongoing fuel scarcity, which could have served as an alternative fuel to power homes, offices and businesses.

A section of the Central Business District in Marina, Lagos Island

In his reaction to the situation, Mr. Surai Fadairo, National President of the Energy Consumer Rights and Responsibilities Initiative (ECRRI), told reporters Wednesday,  February 23, 2022, that several parts of Lagos metropolis are currently getting below six hours of electricity supply per day.

Mr. Fadairo stated: “The situation these past few weeks has been terrible. We have received so many complaints from various areas about the poor condition of electricity being supplied to them.

“While some have been in total darkness for weeks, others barely get up to six hours supply from Eko and Ikeja DisCos.”

“Yet, at month end, they come with outrageous estimated bills that should be paid by customers for power not used.”

The ECRRI National President, therefore, urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to call the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to order in line with its statutory regulatory responsibilities.

Mr. Chidi Onwuka, a business centre operator under Ikeja Electric, was said to have complained that the DisCo had been taking customers for granted with their epileptic power supply.

Onwuka said the situation was affecting his business negatively, especially as getting petrol to power his generators had also become difficult due to the scarcity of the product.

The businessman stated: “This is the time for us to read the agreement they signed. No power, no payment or distribution of bills.”

In his reaction, Mr. Moses Ayoola, another electricity consumer in Egbeda area of Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria the DisCos should do the needful by reducing the tariffs charged to customers.

The consumer also explained that the hike in tariffs was predicated on increased supply which the two DisCos have failed to deliver in recent times.

A resident in the Command Ipaja axis of the state, Mr. Chidi Onwuka, as well said power supply to his area had been for 15 days in a month due to load shedding by the Ikeja Electric.

Onwuka stated: “We use light (electricity) for 15 days in a month, and in a day we don’t get supplied up to five hours of power. Yet we are billed N30,000 plus in a month for 15 days light.”

In terms of adverse impact of poor power supply, Miss Joy Odeh, a resident of Ojo, in Lagos State, said EKEDC’s power supply to Agbabiaka axis of the area had been very poor which had affected small businesses in the area.

Miss Odeh noted: “The cost of goods and services have gone up here because business owners are always using generators due to lack of electricity supply.”

Mr. Taiwo Ige, another consumer who resides in Surulere, said Bishop Crowther Street, Akerele, Ogunlana Drive, Falolu, and its environs in the Lagos mainland had been without power supply for the past three weeks.

Drop in power generation reason for epileptic supply ─DisCos

In view of the relatively poor power supply ito most consumers in Lagos in recent times, both IKEDC and Eko Electricity have attributed the decline in power supply to their clients to a drop in power generation.

Ikeja Electric, in a public notice, said: “Dear esteemed customer, we apologise for the persistent poor power supply you have been experiencing in certain parts of our network. “This due to load shedding by Transmission as a result of drop in power generation.”

The DisCo also stated: “We regret the inconvenience this has caused and wish to assure that we are engaging the responsible stakeholders in the electricity value chain to improve the situation.

“Kindly bear with us at this time.”

Likewise, EKEDC in its public notice said that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) load allocation to its power distribution network had dropped from 440 Megawatss (MW) to 290MW due to low generation.

Eko Electricity further stated: “This has led to outages and load shedding in some areas within our network.

“We sincerely apologise for the current situation and assure you that we are working with our partners in generation and transmission to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

“We equally wish to inform you that we are embarking on projects to improve our supply. Thank you for your understanding.”

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