Despite Repeated Tariff Hikes, Adequate Power Supply Still a Mirage in Nigeria
As Nigerians continue to grapple with the problem of power deficit and its attendant drain on the economy, Festus Akanbi captures the pain of Nigerians who feel abandoned in the face of the poor power supply which cannot justify the repeated tariff hike in the power sector
In the sweltering heat of Nigeria’s cities, where the sun blazes like an unforgiving torch, millions of citizens sit in the choking darkness, their homes and businesses starved of power.
The silence of blackouts becomes a haunting lullaby. Frustration boils over as Nigerians grapple with flickering bulbs and stalled machines.
Yet, far away in the serene corridors of Aso Villa, plans are laid for solar panels, a special arrangement for a privileged few. To the weary masses, this feels like carving out a paradise from Nigeria, while the rest of Nigerians drown in darkness, their cries lost in the buzzing hum of well-lit halls far above.
Power is the lifeblood of industrialisation, the unseen force that keeps factories humming, machines running, and businesses thriving, yet in Nigeria, it has become a cruel mirage, promised but never delivered.
Companies that once provided jobs and boosted the economy are shutting down in droves, crippled by the unbearable cost of fueling generators to stay afloat in the face of an erratic power supply. Artisans like barbers, radio repairers, and hairdressers, who once added vibrancy to the local economy, now stare at rusting tools and empty chairs, unable to afford the soaring cost of petrol for their generators.
The grid, still run by the government, is dilapidated and prone to collapse. That limits the amount of power it will agree to buy from generator companies. These, in turn, have problems beyond the lack of demand from the grid. Gas plants, which produce most grid power, are badly maintained and often fail to pay their suppliers.
Government initiatives have not got off the ground. A partnership between Nigeria, Germany and Siemens, a German firm, is supposed to add 12GW to the grid’s ability to handle throughput. But the project has completed only a pilot phase since it was signed in 2019. Privatisation, which helped improve telecoms and banking in the 1990s, has failed to revamp the power sector.
Stripped of their means of livelihood, they become disillusioned, their creative energy fading into hopelessness, leaving many to wander aimlessly, turning into a frustrated, restless population—a ticking time bomb for the nation.
Nigerians endure the bitter sting of disappointment with power distribution companies. These firms, once heralded as the saviours of the nation’s electricity woes, have instead become symbols of inefficiency, failing to deliver steady power while relentlessly hiking tariffs.
Like merchants of darkness, they collect rising fees for fading light, leaving households to navigate nights of stifling heat and businesses to bleed under the weight of fuel costs.
Meanwhile, the regulators, entrusted with protecting consumers, appear like timid watchmen before a raging inferno, overwhelmed and seemingly powerless, issuing directives that vanish like whispers in a storm.
Adelabu: It’s Time for Cost-Reflective Tariffs
The frustration was coming at a period when the federal government last week told Nigerians to brace up for cost-reflective tariffs, with the Minister of Power, Mr, Adebayo Adelabu, saying the nation’s economy can no longer sustain electricity subsidies.
“We have to understand that our economy cannot sustain subsidies indefinitely,” Adelabu pointed out at a meeting with the Chairmen of Generating Companies of Nigeria (GenCos) in Abuja, last week.
He, however, reaffirmed the government’s interest in providing targeted subsidies for economically disadvantaged Nigerians.’’
He did not explain the category of Nigerians in the ‘’economically disadvantaged’’ category.
The federal government currently owes Generating Companies (Gencos) over N4trillion in backlog subsidy payments.
In its February DisCos Performance report, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said the average actual tariff is N116.18kwh while consumers pay N88.2kwh.
The difference between the actual tariff and average collection, which is N27.97 kWh, was the cost of subsidy per kilowatt hour in February.
All Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) customers, except 15 per cent, which constitutes Band A, enjoy a subsidy.
Analysts said urgent measures should be made to remedy the problem, saying if the electricity problem is not fixed, the economy will also continue to operate below capacity. Nigeria cannot be Africa’s economic powerhouse until it can power its houses.
Harvests of Complaints
Confirming the rising complaints, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across the country received 275,681 customer complaints in the first quarter (Q4) of 2024, as the figures for the first quarter of 2025 are still being awaited.
NERC, in its quarterly report, said the figure represents a 16.13 per cent decrease compared to the 328,696 complaints recorded in Q3 2024. Among the DisCos, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) received the highest number of complaints, totalling 54,683 cases, while Eko DisCo received 47,911 cases, followed by Ibadan DisCo with 47,510 cases.
Also, Abuja DisCo recorded 23,963 complaints, IKEDC received 23,236, Jos DisCo got 19,882, Kano DisCo had 17,328, Enugu DisCo recorded 15,617, Benin DisCo got 13,953, Aba DisCo received 5,513, and Kaduna DisCo had 4,168. The report added that Yola DisCo had the lowest, with 1,917 cases.
“Nine DisCos recorded a decline in the number of customer complaints received in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2024,” the commission said.
N10bn Solar Power Structure in Aso Villa
The complaints over the poor power delivery were further fuelled by the report that the federal government is installing a N10 billion solar power structure at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A cross-section of Nigerians described the government’s action as an abdication of its role and a sign that it has left ordinary Nigerians at the mercy of the power sector operators.
Critics say it is an irony that the government’s surrender to the high cost of electricity, (which it gave as a reason,) which has left Nigerian electricity users stranded. They wonder what happens to the poor Nigerians who cannot afford solar power.
According to them, the installation of solar panels in Aso Villa, which the presidency struggles to convince Nigerians that we are copying from the White House came as a shock. The government forgot that when the American president embarked on the solar panel initiative, it was tied to its effort to convince its citizens to go green. It was not for lack of a steady power supply, which is the Nigerian reality, or the high cost of energy.
Last week, for instance, one of the trending photos on social media was that of a nurse carrying a placard with a comment that reads, “National Hospital, no solar panel. LUTH Lagos, no solar panel. UCH Ibadan, no solar panel. ABUTH, no solar panel. Aso Rock, N10bn solar panel.”
However, a critic said the news about the solar panel installation at the villa came with a poser: “Are we thinking in this country? In my mind, the citizens view the Aso Villa occupants as drenched in escapism, imaginably, like irresponsible parents.”
Capturing the rising level of frustration in the land, the President and Chairman of the Boards of Directors, of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Akinwumi Adesina, said Nigeria will need more rapid economic growth to lift its people out of poverty.
In a speech he delivered on the 20th anniversary dinner of Chapel Hill Denham, titled: ‘Reimagining Nigeria by 2050’, the erstwhile Minister of Agriculture, said though “Africa as a continent is proud of Nigeria, but one common issue that never fails to come up is when will Nigeria wake up and take its place in leading Africa.”
According to him, “The day Nigeria develops, it will lift all of Africa with it.” He said the kind of development the country needed requires that it raise the bar on its economic growth and development.
Adesina lamented that Nigeria, unfortunately, today, has the highest number of extremely poor people in the world. His words: “Nigeria’s GDP per capita is extremely low ($1,596) putting the nation in the bottom rung of African countries, compared to Ghana ($2,260), Cote d’Ivoire ($2,530), Namibia ($4,168), South Africa ($6,022), Egypt ($3,457), Morocco ($3,771) and Botswana ($7,820).” He added that Nigeria’s economic growth is anaemic.
As expected, the Presidency has strongly rebuffed Adesina’s remarks. The presidency says Nigerians are not in a worse economic situation than they were 64 years ago, faulting the claims of Adesina on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
The presidency, through a statement issued by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, challenged both the data and conclusions presented by the AfDB chief.
Describing Adesina’s figures as “inaccurate,” Onanuga argued that they are inconsistent with verifiable historical records.
The presidency pointed to tangible improvements in key sectors since independence, including widespread access to digital technology, a dramatic expansion in road networks, and exponential growth in schools and healthcare facilities.
