News Investigators/ Electricity consumers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have continued to lament the epileptic power situation in the territory, describing it as unacceptable.
The consumers who reside in Kubwa, Bwari, Kado, Apo and Dutse spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
NAN observed that band A consumers, paying upwards of ₦225/kWh, are experiencing erratic supply, while over 60 per cent of consumers lack prepaid metres and face high estimated bills.
The consumers also reacted to the increase in electricity tariff by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) without consultations.
According to them, they are already experiencing incessant outages, even after paying their estimated bills.
A consumer in Kubwa, Mr Segun Akinjide, said that he was considering switching to solar energy as a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative.
“I have really suffered lack of electricity in my neighborhood, I use prepared metre and even after recharging my metre, I don’t see electricity.
“This is very frustrating, I appeal to the Federal Government to look into the matter.”
Another consumer in Dutse, Mrs Comfort Chukwu, said that she normally gets 89.9 units for N5, 000 when she purchases credit for her pre-paid metre but now she gets 73.4 units for that amount.
Chukwu said she was surprised when she purchased credit units for her metre and found out that the units had reduced.
Another resident at Wumba in Apo district, Madam Roseline Ugwu, said her house was on estimated billing and she paid N30,000 last month, but now paid N100,000 for electricity.
“I was surprised when they brought the bill for this month and we saw N100,000. How can we pay for such expensive light that was not constant,” she said.
Another consumer, Miss Jane Ella, residing in Bwari said that she purchased 89.9 units for N5, 000 but now she gets 51.7 units for that same amount.
She said that it was so frustrating paying higher tariff when she was not even getting regular power supply.
A resident in Kado, Mr John Ogar, expressed frustration at being charged ₦13,000 monthly for electricity, even though his area was faced with unending outages due to a faulty transformer.
Yusuf Abdullahi, a small-scale vendor of cold drinks, said his shop had not had electricity for days, yet he still received estimated bills of ₦10,000 monthly.
“We use over 20 litres of diesel daily to keep the drinks cold and run our businesses,” he lamented.
Mr Adeshina Johnson, a resident in Bwari , said that in spite of their transformer being in good condition, they received less than four hours of electricity daily, and only at night.
While calling for a stable power supply, he recommended only a marginal tariff increase to avoid putting additional pressure on the poor.
Another consumer in Dutse, Mr Thomas Ezekiel said he paid N10,000 last month for 144 units and light in his area had improved compared to before.
“We now have up to between four to five hours of electricity in a day, compared to before when we don’t see up to three hours in a day,” he said.
A staff of AEDC, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the increase in electricity depended on the bands of consumers .
According to him, they charged per kWh per hour and it depends on the charges on the 33kv transformer in the area.
He explained that the electricity was charged by what the transformer reads in each area.
Meanwhile, NAN reports that NERC had planned to to increase electricity tariff.
Dr Aliyu Ilias, a development expert, and customer experience management specialist, criticised the planned electricity tariff increase.
He said that consumers were already struggling with poor power supply and should not be made to pay more for inadequate service.
According to him, many communities are experiencing weeks of unstable electricity, forcing households and businesses to rely on alternative power sources, such as generators and solar.
The expert called on the Federal Government to intervene and halt the proposed tariff increment until there were noticeable improvement in electricity distribution.
He expressed concern that citizens were being burdened with additional costs, in spite persistent blackouts and unreliable service delivery.
According to him, people are spending more money to survive the ongoing power challenges, while still receiving limited electricity in their areas.
He called on authorities to prioritise stable and unrestricted electricity, before implementing any increase in tariffs, insisting that Nigerians deserve better service for the amount they were already paying .
He said that suspending the tariff hike would provide relief to consumers facing economic hardship and rising living costs.
NAN contacted AEDC over the increase in tariff, the company referred the reporter to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
NAN reports that NERC had revealed that it was considering an upward review of electricity tariffs to enhance service quality for customers.
NERC disclosed this in a post on its official X handle account on May 11.
While the commission did not specify the new tariff rates, the post stated: “You deserve satisfaction and accurate information on the increase.
“There is no issue of hidden pricing or cutting off your power arbitrarily. We are bringing the electricity tariff closer to you to improve your quality of life.”
The post also affirmed NERC’s commitment to handling customer complaints and protecting consumer rights.
NAN