EXPERT ADVOCATES GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN ESTATE POWER MANAGEMENT

ESV Fosudo Adebisi Olukemi

Fosudo Adebisi Olukemi, a seasoned real estate professional and facility management advocate, has called for stronger transparency and accountability in the management of electricity within Nigeria’s multi-tenanted estates. She emphasized that effective power administration is now a critical part of estate management, especially as the country continues to grapple with an unreliable national grid.

Speaking during an engagement with housing reporters, Fosudo noted that residents in several estates still face challenges ranging from inconsistent supply to billing disputes and confusion around shared service charges.

According to her, many estates operate under a bulk metering arrangement where distribution companies treat the estate as a single customer.

“For most estates, a Maximum Demand Meter is installed at the main entry point, and it records every kilowatt coming into the community,” she explained. “From there, the management distributes power internally, and each resident uses a prepaid meter connected through a centralized cloud system.”

Fosudo highlighted that communal services such as perimeter lighting, sewage treatment plants, borehole pumping systems, and security control rooms also consume electricity. To prevent service disruption, estates typically charge residents a fixed monthly fee to cover these shared facilities.

She stressed that while the system is designed to sustain essential services, issues of trust still arise.

“Nigeria’s power supply passes through generation, transmission, and distribution. If anything breaks along the chain, the entire estate feels it,” she said. “This is why estate managers must maintain close communication with the DISCOs to get timely updates on grid failures, load shedding, or planned maintenance.”

Fosudo recalled a past experience where an estate under her advisory was wrongly billed due to an oversized meter that did not match the actual load requirement.

“When we pushed back and demanded a technical review, the DISCO discovered the mismatch. Once the meter was replaced with the appropriate size, the billing became far more accurate,” she said.

She also identified energy theft, unauthorized connections, and poor resident compliance as recurring obstacles. Regular energy audits, digital payment tracking, and accountability dashboards, she said, are practical steps that estate managers can deploy.

Unlike some estates that rely heavily on generators, she encouraged communities to adopt quieter and cleaner alternatives.

“Generators should not be the default option anymore. Solar panels, inverters, and energy-efficient appliances can significantly reduce dependence on diesel and petrol fumes,” Fosudo advised.

On the issue of shared electricity for communal amenities, she acknowledged that residents sometimes question why they must contribute even when their individual usage seems low.

“Every household buys its own prepaid token, but communal services belong to everyone. Without collective contribution, those facilities simply cannot run,” she explained. “Clear breakdowns, open reporting, and consistent resident education are the only ways to build trust.”

Fosudo urged regulators in the power sector to enforce compliance more robustly, especially regarding billing transparency and metering accuracy. However, she also called on estate boards and facility managers to take responsibility for internal governance.

“Electricity management is not just a technical issue — it is a fairness issue,” she said. “When everyone understands how costs are shared and how the system works, conflicts reduce and communities function better.”