‘Erraticality‘ with Da-Silva
The Power Sector and Puzzles That Tinubu Must Settle
Da-Silva .O. Johnson
TEC News| 3rd August , 2025.
For over two decades, Nigeria’s power sector has been a metaphor for systemic failure, corruption, and elite insensitivity. Despite the transition from public to private ownership, from PHCN to DISCOs and GENCOs, and from promise to policy, the national grid continues to deliver more darkness than light. Today, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the same old questions persist — but with new and complex puzzles that must no longer be swept under the carpet.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently introduced electricity consumption bands, of which Band A has generated intense public outcry. While intended to guarantee up to 20–24 hours of power supply to selected areas, this policy has deepened inequality, created class-based access to electricity, and increased tariffs in a country where minimum wage is still below $50 monthly.
The result? A two-tiered power system — the rich enjoy uninterrupted power in cities while the poor are forced to endure blackouts or pay exploitative prices for generator fuel in forgotten rural and semi-urban areas. This is not reform. It is injustice disguised as regulation.
The Band-A Wound: When Policy Breeds Privilege
Band A customers, largely from wealthier neighborhoods, are promised 20–24 hours of power daily — at a higher tariff. Yet, this policy assumes that the other categories (Bands B to E) deserve less power simply because of their geography or income level. Electricity is a public good, not a luxury item for the privileged.
Furthermore, the implementation has been chaotic. Some communities were reclassified to Band A without consultations or infrastructure upgrades, only to face blackouts despite paying the highest rates. When people pay premium tariffs and still get darkness, the policy loses its legitimacy.
The Vandalism Trap: A Broken System Blames Its Victims
Another chronic crisis is the rampant vandalization of transformers, cables, and substations. However, the true scandal is not just the vandalism — it’s the unjust burden placed on innocent citizens to replace stolen or damaged transformers or electrical infrastructure before power is restored.
In many parts of the country, communities are told bluntly: “No contribution, no transformer; no transformer, no light.”
This practice is not only unethical; it is illegal. It violates the spirit of privatization, where distribution companies (DISCOs), now private entities, should bear full responsibility for infrastructure maintenance and losses — not poor residents struggling to survive. Yet, due to a mix of regulatory weakness and official complicity, communities are forced to crowdfund millions of naira for electrical facilities, while these same DISCOs turn around and collect bills without shame or refunds.
Where Is NERC in All This?
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, which should act as a protector of consumers, is increasingly seen as a distant referee who watches from the sidelines. Its silence on exploitative practices, such as estimated billing, forced community funding, and prolonged blackouts in non-Band A zones, signals a regulatory capture — where the regulators appear to serve the interests of power companies more than the people.
What we now witness is a monopoly market disguised as privatization. The average citizen cannot choose their electricity provider. They are forced to accept whatever service — or disservice — their local DISCO provides. This one-sided relationship is the exact opposite of what the reform promised in 2013.
The Cost to National Growth
Let’s be clear: Nigeria’s power problem is not just an inconvenience — it is an economic emergency. According to World Bank estimates, Nigeria loses over $29 billion annually due to unreliable power. Businesses are shutting down, manufacturers are relocating to Ghana and Rwanda, and investors are shunning Nigeria because energy remains the lifeblood of any productive economy.
Children do their homework under candlelight. Hospitals operate surgeries using torchlight. Factories run on diesel for 80% of their operational hours. What kind of progress can thrive in such darkness?
Puzzles President Tinubu Must Urgently Solve
As Nigeria seeks a pathway to economic stability and industrial growth, President Tinubu cannot afford to continue inherited patterns of political silence and superficial policy tweaks. He must:
1. Reform Band Billing Fairly
Guarantee that every Nigerian, regardless of income or location, has access to affordable and reliable power. If Band A is to exist, it must come with a roadmap to upgrade the entire country — not isolate benefits to a few.
2. Ban Forced Community Funding for Infrastructure
Government must compel DISCOs to take full responsibility for maintaining and replacing their assets. Any company unable to fulfill its franchise terms should be stripped of its license.
3. End Estimated Billing and Enforce Metering
No Nigerian should pay for electricity that wasn’t consumed. The mass deployment of prepaid meters must be accelerated, with stiff penalties for DISCOs that continue to extort consumers through guesswork billing.
4. Protect Power Assets and Punish Vandalism
The vandalization of transformers and power lines must be treated as a national security offense. Surveillance technology, community policing, and quick judicial responses should be instituted.
5. Strengthen NERC and Make it Truly Independent
NERC must become an agency that fears the citizens more than it fears politicians or private companies. Its mandate must include aggressive consumer protection and quarterly public accountability briefings.
6. Decentralize and Embrace Renewable Energy
Nigeria must move beyond grid-based thinking. Solar mini-grids, especially for off-grid communities, are viable, affordable, and scalable. If Lagos can enjoy 24/7 power in select zones, why not Zamfara, Uyo, or Jos?
7.Stop unjust treatment of consumers and exploitations. Aside that Most times, consumers are made to pay for the energy not consumed, there is also the issue of taking light at will and without notice , thereby leaving home use or industrial stored properties destroyed. This should be stopped.
A Nation Cannot Grow in Darkness
In many ways, the power sector mirrors the Nigerian condition — hopeful at dawn, disappointing by nightfall. But if President Tinubu truly wants to leave a legacy, the power sector is his moment of reckoning. A restructured, equitable, and corruption-free energy system will be the strongest foundation for any economic renaissance his administration desires.
Enough of recycled promises. The time to solve Nigeria’s power puzzle is now.
