I tuned in late to a Radio Nigeria call in program yesterday evening and the guest was a PHCN official. I didn't get his name but his responses were irritating and just gave me goose pimples.
Nigerians are in for many more years of suffering despite the 'privatisation' of that sector.
1) They still have this public sector mentality which needs to be reset.
2)I feel the federal government has giving them so much backing that they know a poor consumer cannot do much to them.
3) The regulators are docile.
4) Their monopoly is epic. These companies are owned by the untouchables of our society and do as they please.

Some of the questions and answers are paraphrased below.

Caller 1
A caller from Gwagwalada called in to complain that the transformer in his area had been vandalised and they have not had light in a long while, despite that they were still getting monthly estimated billings.
The response he got is that the community was at fault for allowing vandals destroy their transformer hence they are paying the price for not guarding their transformers.
In my mind I was like is this response actually from a private company? When did it become the responsibility of the consumers to guard the assets of the company? Can MTN blame consumers for its vandalised Base stations and keep billing them for no service rendered?
Seriously, the regulators in the power sector need to wake up and do what they are paid for.

Caller 2
A caller from Nsukka called in to complain that has been in complete darkness for months but yet have been receiving bills regularly. They went to complain to PHCN office and they advised him to pack out of that area to an area that enjoys constant power supply.
Response:
The man said it was wrong for them to have giving him such a response.
I expected him to initiate an investigation and probably promise the caller to get back to him with an appropriate response as to the cause of the black out in his area.

Honestly these companies think they are doing us a favor by providing us with 2hrs of electricity in a week, absolutely pathetic. how long do we keep on using generating sets ehn? I think state governments should begin to think of generating, transmitting and distributing their own electricity, if they have excess then sell to states or countries that have more demand thereby creating revenue for such states. if corruption and stealing of public funds weren't the hobbies of some individuals in government, the money injected into the power sector since 1999 would have since solved this light and electricity issues. God help us.

jenykaris:
Honestly these companies think they are doing us a favor by providing us with 2hrs of electricity in a week, absolutely pathetic. how long do we keep on using generating sets ehn? I think state governments should begin to think of generating, transmitting and distributing their own electricity, if they have excess then sell to states or countries that have more demand thereby creating revenue for such states. if corruption and stealing of public funds weren't the hobbies of some individuals in government, the money injected into the power sector since 1999 would have since solved this light and electricity issues. God help us.

Sadly, state governors can't build & operate power plants without remitting a certain % to the national grid. Anyone who can afford it should dump PHCN and go solar, the power situation in the country is hopeless.

The FG need to liberalize the power sector & allow more private sector participation, just like they did in telecoms & now petroleum sectors. Indivial investors will be better placed to ascertain what is needed & the best methods to solve these needs. Modular power plants with capacities ranging from 20-120 MW will guarantee steady power supply for the host communities & beyond. Alas, selfish interest & cabalism (no vex) no go gree 'em polithiefcians.

porozhniy:
The FG need to liberalize the power sector & allow more private sector participation, just like they did in telecoms & now petroleum sectors. Indivial investors will be better placed to ascertain what is needed & the best methods to solve these needs. Modular power plants with capacities ranging from 20-120 MW will guarantee steady power supply for the host communities & beyond. Alas, selfish interest & cabalism (no vex) no go gree 'em polithiefcians.