When God said, “Let there be light”, Nigeria blinked. The little electricity we get is for seeing shege non-stop, and that is not about to end this year.
Despite the fact that some petrol stations are selling fuel between ₦250-300 per litre, and electricity poles are trying to kill us; Nigeria is about to show us that our situation can and will get worse.
Many people have complained about the country’s electricity state for many weeks. 24-hour electricity isn’t regular for many of us, but in the last couple of weeks, there’s been little to no power supply. Those lucky enough to get blessed by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have electricity for a few minutes, at best hours, once or twice a week.
What are the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) saying?
Although there has been no official statement from the DisCos, Ikeja Electric and Eko Distribution company gave the following reasons on their Twitter pages when asked for information on what was going on:
- Low power generation
- Some areas have ongoing maintenance work by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Unfortunately, many Nigerians are in the dark about what’s happening, which shouldn’t be, and there’s a law to back this up.
What is this legislation?
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) are mandated by law to notify their customers in writing before Nigeria’s electricity service disconnection. In simple terms, if there isn’t going to be light for a couple of days, it is within our rights to be informed beforehand in writing.
It’s not shocking that this regulation isn’t being followed, as many of us had no idea it even existed in the first place. However, this isn’t the only right we are entitled to as electricity consumers.
We have the right to contest an electricity bill
It’s not uncommon to hear complaints of being overcharged for electricity that was barely even available in the first place. And although we’d usually pay irrespective of the fact that it seems unfair, it is within our rights to contest the bill brought. If more Nigerians start paying attention to this, it won’t be long before we start seeing changes in the power sector in this regard.
It isn’t our responsibility to repair, replace or buy transformers or electric poles
This seems like common knowledge, but citizens often take this burden on themselves as the government either takes years to meet these demands or shies away from the responsibility altogether.
With elections less than a month away, the ruling party is giving Nigerians reasons not to vote them in again. Can they pull a miracle before February 25th, or should we accept this difficult lifestyle as the new norm?
Are you signed up to our Game of Votes newsletter yet? We help you make sense of news jargon and keep you up-to-date especially with election news. Make the subscription of a lifetime here
