Even if you never seem to have light for long enough to cook beans, your electricity bills keep going up.
Two months ago, I bought 77 units for ₦5k. Last week, imagine my shock when I got 51 units for the same ₦5k.
For the 100th time. I wonder why I’m still in this country. So because misery loves company, I reached out to fellow Nigerians who are having to deal with the skyrocketing costs of electricity while getting a lot less supply.
Ahmed, Lagos
Even though my electricity bill has doubled over the past six months. I still spend more than ₦30k to fuel my generator. The first time DisCos increased the price two years ago, they promised that we’d receive more power. I didn’t mind because no one likes generator noise, and I didn’t have any problems paying more money if I was guaranteed more electricity. For some time it seemed things were improving. But suddenly, the bills kept increasing and the quality of service fell off. Nowadays, I have a lot less light than I had two years ago — I went from receiving an average of 15 hours of power supply a day to less than 8 hours of electricity, even though I’m paying a lot more money now.
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Oluchi, Jos
These NEPA people came to collect money yesterday. They demanded ₦25k. For what? The only electrical appliances we use in my parents’ house are energy-saving bulbs, a TV and a fridge and we don’t even have steady power. They keep bringing these outrageous bills, and we’ve asked them for a prepaid metre, but they said we must pay off outstanding bills of ₦1.5m before they install it. From where na?
Even as it is, they don’t even read the metre to gauge our power consumption; they just estimate any random figure and slap it on the bills so that they can steal money. But me I don’t even have their time. Yesterday, I just counted ₦5k and gave them, let everybody calm down. If they insist to collect ₦25k from me for NEPA bill, they’ll have to carry gun.
Olamide*, Uyo
Omo, let’s just say that I now know why my mum always used to shout at me for leaving lights on.
Sylvia, Ibadan
It’s been crazy, but what will I do na? Not pay for electricity? Everything is doubling in price every day, and IBEDC has decided to go the way of Nigerian brands: increase the price but reduce quality. I no longer even get up to 10 hours of light a day. Sometimes, I even go for days without electricity. With the current fuel scarcity, it’s been a truly stressful time for me as I work from home. Last week I couldn’t get anything done and I’m sure my boss got tired of my excuses, but na Naija wey we dey.
Kedei, Abuja
I used to buy power for ₦10k before and it’d last me for a month. Right now, ₦10k only lasts for three weeks at best. And that’s with serious monitoring o. I switch on my air conditioner for some time until my bedroom gets cold, then I switch it off. I only leave my water heater on for 10-15 minutes daily so I can have enough hot water to use twice a day.
