THE Ikeja Electric has apologised for not meeting Band A customers’ 20-hour minimum electricity supply, as power supply has recently worsened in several parts of Lagos State and Nigeria.
In a statement on Saturday, April 27, the distribution company (DisCo) said it experienced faults with some of its feeders in Ikeja and Ikorodu.
“We extend our apologies for falling short of the expected minimum service level of 20 hours on the Band A feeders below, for 25th and 26th April, 2024. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you,” it said.
It said the locations most affected were Ikeja and Ikorodu, noting that feeder 11-PT-CINJ-T2 at Awuse in Ikeja and the 11-PTCCINJ-T3 feeder at Oba Akinjobi in Ikeja GRA were affected.
Read Also:
- Reject electricity tariff hike, Northern Elders urge Nigerians
- 85% of Nigerians still enjoy electricity subsidy – FG
- Electricity subsidy doesn’t exist, IMF, FG deceiving Nigerians – Falana
A feeder at Odogunya in Ikorodu was also affected, resulting in the 11-kilovolt (KV) fault.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved a tariff hike for Band A customers, who enjoy up to 20 hours of power supply, effective April 1.
The NERC recently approved a tariff hike for Band A customers, who will enjoy up to 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply daily.
Accordingly, the 11 DisCos in the country, including Ikeja Electric, have raised their electricity tariff to about N220 per kilowatt-hour for Band A customers, effective April 1.
According to NERC, Band A customers made up 15 per cent of its 12 million customers in Nigeria but raised concerns over the capacity of the DisCos to provide the required hours of electricity.
Despite the tariff hike, blackouts have persisted in most states, as many customers on Band A in different parts of the country have complained of not having a 20-hour electricity supply, The ICIR reported.
Attempts to reach the principal manager of Public Affairs at Ikeja Electric, Olusola Ayeni, for comment on when the issues would be resolved -were unsuccessful, as his phone line was switched off when filing this report.
However, the NERC’s commissioner of consumer Affairs, Aisha Mahmud, told The ICIR that customers could seek compensation for poor power supply when DisCos failed to supply a minimum of 20 hours of power under the Band following the latest tariff increment.
According to Mahmud, customers will be eligible for a 50 per cent increase in compensation, as stipulated by NERC regulations, should DisCos persistently fail to meet service levels of at least 20 hours daily for seven consecutive days.
She said it would also result in the automatic downgrade of the feeder.
The ICIR reported that stakeholders had raised concerns about how the NERC could monitor a customer who’s supposed to have 20 hours but gets less and that the tariff hike for Band A customers would not solve the country’s epileptic power supply problem.