By Joy Yesufu
Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have apologised to Nigerians over persistent power outages across the country, urging stakeholders in the electricity sector to stop trading blame and work together to address the worsening supply crisis.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, made the appeal on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Oduntan acknowledged the hardship caused by the prolonged outages, saying electricity consumers had endured weeks of inadequate supply.
“I would like to first of all start by apologising to Nigerians. An apology is needed; it is essential because Nigerians have been taken through this problem over the past few weeks,” he said.
He expressed concern over renewed disagreements among operators in the electricity value chain, warning that the return of mutual accusations could further complicate efforts to resolve the crisis.
According to him, the sector experienced a similar pattern between 2016 and 2019, when distribution companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), generation companies (GenCos) and gas suppliers repeatedly blamed one another for poor electricity supply.
“Our major problem is that we have started down that very wrong route that we went through between 2016 and 2019. What is that? Blame game,” he said.
Oduntan urged the different operators to abandon the blame game and focus on identifying the underlying problems affecting electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
He also questioned the explanations provided by the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) regarding the factors responsible for the decline in electricity supply.
He said NISO had attributed the shortfall partly to inadequate gas supply and reduced water levels, but noted that a subsequent NNPC statement suggested that gas was available.
Oduntan called on the national oil company to clarify whether outstanding payments were affecting gas supplies to power generation companies.
“From the NNPC statement, it is very clear that they came to tell us half-truths. What I would have expected NNPC to do is to go ahead and tell us whether there are payment issues. We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn’t,” he said.
The ANED chief executive also urged the Minister of Power to convene a meeting of relevant agencies and operators to establish the facts behind the supply crisis and coordinate a response.
“This back-and-forth blame game between gas suppliers, NNPC and, of course, TCN or NISO, I think the Minister of Power needs to take charge. There is a need for this leadership because, at the end of the day, they need to call them together,” he said.
The persistent outages have sparked complaints from households and businesses, many of which have had to rely on alternative sources of electricity at additional costs.
The situation has also raised concerns among customers on Band A, who are entitled to a minimum supply of 20 hours daily under the electricity service classification, despite paying higher tariffs.
Some customers in the category have continued to report supply shortfalls, further fuelling dissatisfaction over electricity charges and service delivery.
For households relying on generators, the rising cost of petrol and diesel has increased the financial burden, while the high cost of solar panels, batteries and inverters has made alternative energy solutions unaffordable for many Nigerians.
The electricity crisis has also attracted criticism from public figures. Veteran actress Kate Henshaw recently lamented the poor supply, saying Nigerians had been forced to turn their homes into “mini-factories” by constantly generating their own electricity.
