₦airaland Forum

Jakarta:
It happens in certain areas, in my current area we average around 18 - 20 hours daily on band A, except there is a grid collapse. Although we performed the duties of DisCos ourselves. Like buying transformers, electric poles, wires, and post paid meters, we are still responsible for maintenance. But we won't be paying our light bills for a very long time until our expenses are refunded by discos. I use both band A and E and band E haven't witness even 2 hours of power supply for over 7 months now.

That aside, I think these Discos, and Gencos are exploiting customers and government officials are aware of it. Corruption has eaten deep into our power industry.

He said 23.5
Meaning they only take light 30mins a day
Haa

Omo make we no lie band A light Dey sweet like he go kon be like say u Dey small London… since yesterday our light never blink 😂😂😂. Those of you wey no get light sorryooo!!! But make I Dey enjoy this one while it last!!! 😂😂😂. !!! Nigeria don make common man Dey celebrate little things

Kobicove:
How are they paying more for darkness when most of them already have prepaid meters?

If you don't get any electricity then you don't need to pay anything

Bloody clickbait title—and the conclusion is flat-out wrong. Most people on Band A are actually getting the promised supply; it’s the lower bands that have been hammered by the gas shortages. And let’s not pretend people are stuck—there’s a process to downgrade your feeder if you’re not getting what’s required.

The real fix? Scrap this useless band system, let market forces set the price, and sell off the remaining government assets in the power sector. Give it three years, max, and this nonsense of intermittent supply will largely disappear. But as usual, Nigerians like to pretend they’re protecting the poor, when in reality the system is not just eating the poor alive, but also wasting their future potential and opportunities.

Kobicove:
How are they paying more for darkness when most of them already have prepaid meters?

If you don't get any electricity then you don't need to pay anything

I don't think you read the post. If you did you would have known that their meater charge more per kw that others

iwaeda:
You are not in Band A, 18 hours meant for Band B. Band A is 20-24 hours and B is 16-20, so being charged for A and getting B is fraudulent. Nigerian dont know their rights, but content with piecemeal.

I had been saying these and will keep saying it, prepaid meter is the original estimate billings, how can one be paying #225 for light and yet can't get it


And if those dishonest greedy minister and PHCN officers are being honest, majority of consumers will be in bands D and E, while the industrials will be in Bands B and C

dawnomike:
I am on Band A and we still sometimes have up to 18hrs of electricity in a day....

I think my area is part of the lucky few this period because, I can only imagime how much it would have been costing me to run on generator everyday

what do you mean some times, and you are getting 18hrs, instead 20hrs consistently and you are happy. That's the mentality now. Nigeria as a country is gone.

Kobicove:
How are they paying more for darkness when most of them already have prepaid meters?

If you don't get any electricity then you don't need to pay anything

You were placed on a high tarrifs band of ₦209.50 per unit based on the fact that you will have reliable access to electricity. If at the end of the day you spend more money fuelling your gen, you are indirectly paying more for darkness.

lionshare:
Bloody clickbait title—and the conclusion is flat-out wrong. Most people on Band A are actually getting the promised supply; it’s the lower bands that have been hammered by the gas shortages. And let’s not pretend people are stuck—there’s a process to downgrade your feeder if you’re not getting what’s required.

The real fix? Scrap this useless band system, let market forces set the price, and sell off the remaining government assets in the power sector. Give it three years, max, and this nonsense of intermittent supply will largely disappear. But as usual, Nigerians like to pretend they’re protecting the poor, when in reality the system is not just eating the poor alive, but also wasting their future potential and opportunities.

I am in band A, I don't get 20-24 hours in a day.

It's a crazy country. Even the people inside the people there are crazy. Including me.

I payed 40k this month, I deh vex pay the money cause I don't have a choice.

The artful dodgers will come here and say the band A users should port to solar since they have the financial muscle. Will you blame them? Hell no, the minister of power for the nation will rather sell solar to you than fix the stagnant the power sector while the president wouldn't mind to go off grid too so who is deceiving who.

Anyway, those who can't afford solar have made peace with darkness.

Amazing development
Band H dey get steady light for okearo matogun ooo

lionshare:
Bloody clickbait title—and the conclusion is flat-out wrong. Most people on Band A are actually getting the promised supply; it’s the lower bands that have been hammered by the gas shortages.

^^^
Perhaps you need to explain what you mean by 'most'. Do you have access to the entire customer database of all the DISCOs?

I will speak for myself. I was placed on band A several months ago and the last time the DISCO met the 20 hour minimum for 3 straight days was the middle of last year. My community is up in arms about this matter at the moment and the DISCO is still giving excuses.

lionshare:
The real fix? Scrap this useless band system, let market forces set the price, and sell off the remaining government assets in the power sector. Give it three years, max, and this nonsense of intermittent supply will largely disappear. But as usual, Nigerians like to pretend they’re protecting the poor, when in reality the system is not just eating the poor alive, but also wasting their future potential and opportunities.

^^^
Fair enough.

While we are at it, I think we should also privatize 'national security' and allow private military contractors (duly vetted and registered of course) to do army (and police) work. After all, the same management problems that afflicted NNPC in the oil sector and the old NEPA in the power sector (price controls, subsidies) are very much present in the armed forces, the NPF etc. But strangely, there are no takers for this suggestion.

I believe your points

DeLaRue:
I am in Band A.

For about a year now, I've had light at 23.5 hours a day.

Even through the current power crisis, we get over 23hours. There are days when we get 24hrs.

I suspect that privatisation has emboldened Discos to pursue pure profit by supplying power to a narrow small group of consumers - primarily those in Band A.

That's very wrong. The law should compel Discos to distribute power to all consumers more evenly.

I would rather have less supply so that others (non-Band A) can have some power too.

Solar and power bank dealers are cashing out massively now very soon everyone go comot body for government electricity

Englishisamust:
Omo make we no lie band A light Dey sweet like he go kon be like say u Dey small London… since yesterday our light never blink 😂😂😂. Those of you wey no get light sorryooo!!! But make I Dey enjoy this one while it last!!! 😂😂😂. !!! Nigeria don make common man Dey celebrate little things

Which area? Am on band A and we enjoy 18hours light everyday which is a breach of our consumer right.

This caricature is so telling

philipobiz:
what do you mean some times, and you are getting 18hrs, instead 20hrs consistently and you are happy. That's the mentality now. Nigeria as a country is gone.

I get 18hrs everyday as band A customer and I have reported the idiots to FCCPC and NERC. Two days ago, I got an apology call from IKEDC top manager but that’s not enough because they repeatedly breach our service rights they communicated to provide for us

Even Aso Rock meant to be in Band A ran to Solar for light.

Band A na scam.

We get light to higher level, but it doesn't equate to the noise of at least 20hrs light.


Plus, the workers are dubious.

Dynamicboss:
I get 18hrs everyday as band A customer and I have reported the idiots to FCCPC and NERC. Two days ago, I got an apology call from IKEDC top manager but that’s not enough because they repeatedly breach our service rights they communicated to provide for us

Most Nigerians don't know their rights, 19 hours 40 mins for Band A is a breach of agreement, you are even lucky they responded to you. Some people in my area are even afraid to complain, ferling they may be downgraded. If all Nigeria can be united, we will have better services

nairalanda1:
Well, what did you all expect.

1.Your government under GEJ privatises power in 2013, and then takes the power of setting their prices away from them and places it in government hands.

2. Government then promised to pay subsidies to cover the losses that would result, and then forgets to pay most of them

3. Since power companies cannot charge a cost reflective tarrif, as a result, they lose a lot of money, and the subsidy payments that do come cannot cover their losses completely. They are forced to borrow from the banks to survive.

4. Also, the discos engage in ripping off customers from estimated billing to bill inflation

When government is setting your prices, the result is scarcity, corruption and inefficency.

(As an example, in Poland, from 1945-1990, government set the prices of food below what it cost the farmers to produce it. The result was food scarcity, shortages, long queues at shops for things like bread and eggs and milk!..and so forth. But once the Solidarity government removed the prices set by the Communist party of poland, and allowed farmers set their prices, the result was that while prices shot up, there was an abundance of food in the shops and market. TOday, no queues in poland for food.)

5. Before you say it is all GEJ's fault, Buhari came in, and maintained the price controls. Tinubu too came in and maintained the price controls

6. Add the problems of massive power theft, and bypassing of meters (60% of metered consumers as at 2025), and the result is a power sector that is losing money, struggling to surive and cannot pay for gas

7.The result is for the nth time, the gas companies have totally refused to supply gas to the gencos. They want their money, all over 10 trillion naira worth of it, including 6-8 trillion owed by government in subsidy payments dating from 2014.

8. When the discos and gencos were NEPA, it was the same story.

9. So, since the gencos cannot pay for gas, and they cannot raise enough funds from the discos, the result is that Band A cannot get light because the gencos and discos are so broke that they can't even survive without ripping off consumers.


Lack of a cost reflective tarrif caused all this. Saying that it is tinubu or gej is basically saying that tinubu andGEJ have been ruling this country since 1978.


I am not here to convince you to support tinubu, I am here to show you why the situation is bad. Please for god's sake vote out tinubu, but don't expect your new leader to bring back light unless Nigerians rich and poor pay a cost reflective tarrif. ALL OF THEM, Not just band A.

I read through and Loved what you wrote but Majority of Nigerians cannot pay for electricity, how many homes can afford to pay what Band A pays? I know someone who recharges like 20k a week for his house. How much is minimum wage again? That's why people will continue to bypass prepaid because the majority of Nigerians can't pay.

OredoPikin2:
So we that gets less than 2hours per day is under which band?

You're on Band on God we trust

dawnomike:
I am on Band A and we still sometimes have up to 18hrs of electricity in a day....

I think my area is part of the lucky few this period because, I can only imagime how much it would have been costing me to run on generator everyday

This is not Nigeria.

Julibet:
I read through and Loved what you wrote but Majority of Nigerians cannot pay for electricity, how many homes can afford to pay what Band A pays? I know someone who recharges like 20k a week for his house. How much is minimum wage again? That's why people will continue to bypass prepaid because the majority of Nigerians can't pay.

And as a result, and I am sorry to say this, Nigeria will continue to have issues with power supply till thy kingdom come, or till nuclear fusion is made commercially viable.

That also means that people should either ask the government to start taking loans of about 25 trillion naira, 15 trillion to fix things, ten trillon to pay for gas and other stuff, on a yearly basis for at least ten years,before we can see power.

And it means that people should stop blaming discos and the government (lol...they do have some responsiblity).

That's the problem. There are hard truths Nigerians do not want to face.

I want tinubu out, honestly, but lord knows that until we pay cost reflectrive tarrifs, na loan or we just kept quiet. Even if we vote Obi hundreds of times over.

Having a good Solar syetem is the next thing that can ever happen to anybody in Nigeria right now

Or else, NEPA go wound you gan 😂

OredoPikin2:
So we that gets less than 2hours per day is under which band?

Rubber Band

Here in Dawaki Abuja, we pay N225/kWh and for sometime now, power have been epileptic in nature

OredoPikin2:
So we that gets less than 2hours per day is under which band?

band z

zone of zombies

Dynamicboss:
I get 18hrs everyday as band A customer and I have reported the idiots to FCCPC and NERC. Two days ago, I got an apology call from IKEDC top manager but that’s not enough because they repeatedly breach our service rights they communicated to provide for us

. This should be the response for being short changed, if a lot follow true, they will be on immense pressure to perform, including the idiot FCCPC and NERC that are sitting duck.

I admit to your submission...same experience.

DeLaRue:
I am in Band A.

For about a year now, I've had light at 23.5 hours a day.

Even through the current power crisis, we get over 23hours. There are days when we get 24hrs.

I suspect that privatisation has emboldened Discos to pursue pure profit by supplying power to a narrow small group of consumers - primarily those in Band A.

That's very wrong. The law should compel Discos to distribute power to all consumers more evenly.

I would rather have less supply so that others (non-Band A) can have some power too.

Let me nor lie, here In Delta state I do enjoy at least 20 hours light with band A. BEDC dey try for us. Especially if you live in warri, sapele or oghara and uses band A light, we really do appreciate BEDC