Electricity consumers in Kaduna State have expressed concern over the constant collapse of the national grid and epileptic power supply in the state.
The consumers raised the concern at the Customers’ Complaint Summit organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) held in Kaduna.
One of the customers who is also the Head of Manufacturing, R.H Plastics Limited, Sanjeev Kumar and another customer, Vaibhav Lakhole expressed frustration over inability to operate their businesses, saying that their company lost N60 million in 10 days due to the national grid collapse in October.
They demanded compensation for their losses, adding that they have written to Kaduna Electric over their losses.
“As a production company, we rely heavily on consistent power to meet the demands of our esteemed customers. Running our machines on generators is unsustainable because of the prohibitive costs. This outage paralysed our operations and caused substantial financial losses.
“We are among the biggest consumers of Kaduna Electric, using over 500,000 kWh of electricity monthly and paying N100 million and yet this outage has caused process wastages, quality defects, and unmet customer demands that have severely dented our business and balance sheet.”
Beyond compensation, the firm is also seeking concrete resolutions to prevent a recurrence of such disruptions. “Kaduna Electric should address issues like power fluctuations, low voltage, and unexpected outages, which have significantly impacted the company’s productivity and profitability”.
Some of the Band A, customers who are entitled to a minimum of 20 hours light per day said that they hardly get 16 hours per day.
They lamented that their businesses are gradually collapsing due to inadequate power supply, urging the DisCo to address their problems.
The Commissioner, Consumer Affairs at the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) Aisha Mahmud explained that the issue of power outage and grid collapsing is basically not the fault of the distribution company, adding that it’s not the duty of the DisCo to compensate them.
“We are here to ensure that our customers are not unduly exploited by the utilities and we will be here for three days and we will be resolving customers complaint on the spot, except for those complaints that are technical in nature and those complaints would require sure visit”.
Earlier, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani who was represented by the Managing Director of Kaduna State Power Supply Company, (KAPSCO), Engr. Idris Aminu Idris, harped on the need to improve power supply in the State and beyond to meet the need of residents.
The governor disclosed that the state government has invested billions of Naira since the commencement of power sector reforms.
He said, “Reliable power supply is the cornerstone of any modern society. Its inadequacy continues to hinder socio-economic and technological advancement, affecting the livelihoods and well-being of our citizens.
“Understanding the pivotal role of electricity in economic growth, we have taken deliberate steps to promote ease of doing business in Kaduna State, attracting investors-including Kaduna Electric-who are critical to the development of our economy.
“As a major Customer of Kaduna electric, the state has demonstrated its commitment to fostering this partnership. This includes engaging with the Distribution Company on electricity matters and providing key interventions to enhance power distribution for our residents through the Kaduna State Power Supply Company (KAPSCO) that are tasked with implementing the State’s power mandates.”
Governor Sani urged all stakeholders, including the DisCos, customers, NERC, and, most importantly, the citizens to work together in good faith. “By doing so, we can ensure the sustainability of power supply and extend distribution networks to underserved communities within Kaduna State and beyond”.
The Managing director, Kaduna Electric, Umar Abubakar noted that the essence of the meeting was to ensure that customers’ complaint were resolved.
He also lamented vandalism of transformers in the state and urged community leaders and members to safeguard their transformers.