All my life, I’ve lived in an area without steady power supply. It’s so bad that people literally rejoice when the light comes on, and when it lasts for days without going off, it feels like a miracle. Electricity is anything but reliable in my are. You never see it when you need it. The power outages are very frequent and unpredictable. We go for days without electricity and it's fine, we're used to it.
I don't have a problem with rationing power supply, the problem come when the light is inconsistent and unsteady. Sometimes it is not even balanced, some neighborhood gets 24/7 power supply while others don't even see light at all, which can really be so frustrating, especially when you desperately need it for work or other things. Let's not even mention the national grid in my country that has collapsed more times than someone with a low blood pressure.
Everyone you see on the street is walking around with a power bank and a charging cable. I think it's now our national symbol. Sadly, owning power banks now is a means of survival. I would have said generators but, the hike in fuel prices is outrageous. Even charging at phone booths is expensive now.
At home, we access power supply directly which is quite a hassle because, there the power supply is not steady like I mentioned. But it is quite shocking that at the end of the month, we get the bills and it so much. Recently, they've hiked the power charges for every month. The other day, I came by the power office and everyone was complaining bitterly about the hike in power bills. They complains were so much that it almost turned to a protest. How are people being charged NGN70,000-80,000 for just one month?
The power officers had to even involve the police before things gets out of hand. Not only are we suffering for bills and the unsteady light, they power equipments like the transformers are not being taken care of. I can't count how many times we have been billed to fix the transformer this year. Now with the road construction going on, they had to totally remove the transformer, so basically for months to come, I don't think we'll be seeing any power supply at home.
Before we got the prepaid meter for our office, we had to clear a huge sum of NGN300k, for the estimated we've been using. We had to do it for work and since we no longer have power supply at home, we had no other choice. The first NGN5k, we recharged stayed for moths before it got exhausted. We didn't have much electrical appliances so it was worth it. I think I like the pay-as-you-use method because, at least you now have a choice whether to enjoy light or not. Also, there is steady power supply at the office,of course they won't want the power to go off because, it's their money.
I don't actually blame people who finally opt for solar panels at least for a measure of peace of mind. My uncle recently invested a huge sum of money installing his solar for his business. He sells water for his neighborhood and also for all his heavy appliances, freezers, Air-conditioners and the rest. I go there most times to use light when I have a pressing work to finish up. The peace knowing that you have light whenever you need it is underrated. If not for the initial cost of installing it, I think solar is the cleanest and best form of power, especially for us here in Nigeria. For now, we will keep managing the little we are being given while we hope for things to get better.
Images are mine
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Carrying a power bank in your pocket is not a good idea, as evidenced by the power of electricity. I got to know your country condition a little bit. However, I hope that one day everything will be okay.
We're very hopeful Hasan. It's almost reaching a breaking point,like we can't take it much longer but what choice have we got? We'll keep managing.
This is Nigeria.. what more can we say? Lol😅
Thank God for solar, it had really saved aof extra expenses for lots of its users.
The poor electric power issue has become a normal thing. Something that shouldn't be. Amidst all of that, what pains me more is the fact that the bills the power company charges at the end of the month is so outrageous. So the best thing is to opt for a prepaid meter.
So sad to hear you experience this issue and knowing that even in coming months you'll experience light outage. I think something can be done, but will they?
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The bill will be increasing despite having very poor power supply and no one is saying anything about it.
Using solar panels or prepaid meters is the best because you will have peace from all these estimated bills with light that is not even constant
Indeed, it has so many direct and auxiliary benefits, it addresses climate change, ensures sustainability, help transition to clean nd green energy, lowers the carbon intensity on economy, and last but not th least it also makes a nation truly sovereign as it does not have to depend on others for energy security. Go Solar.......Go Green.
We can't have steady power supply in Nigeria especially with these kind of leaders who don't care what we are going through. All the care is themselves. God have mercy on them.
In my area most people today are used to solar system and it has been of a great help to us.
Thanks for sharing
Seriously, you are the luckiest people on earth