EXTRA: Nigerians keep freezers on for days due to low electricity tariff, says Adelabu
Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, has criticised Nigerians who keep their freezers and air conditioners on when they are not home.
Adelabu, while addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said Nigerians lack the culture of power consumption management due to its affordability.
“The bitter truth we all need to tell ourselves as Nigerians. A few people are just privileged to sit on the high table. We’re on the same level, we must be able to tell the truth to ourselves,” he said.
“We don’t have the culture of consumption management in this country in terms of power, just of the cheapness of the tariff we pay for power.
“A lot of people will come back from work, they want to have dinner, or they want to see their colleagues down the road, they switch on the AC for the room to be cooling before they come back.
“Some people will be going to work in the morning, a freezer that you left on for days, they will still leave it on when all the items in the freezer are frozen and 5, 6, 8 hours of their absence will not make it to defreeze, they will still leave it to be consuming power just because we are not paying enough.
“We have all been overseas before; we know how conscious the power consumers are about electricity consumption.”
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classifications.
The regulator said customers who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily will pay N225 per kilowatt (kW) from April 3.
The new rate is about triple the previous rate of N66 per kilowatt (kW).
This kinda statement is absolutely pile of crap, u re not sure of when the light the so called nepa brought how long it is going to last, you are not sure when u will see the the light again. I think the main reason is the uncertainty surrounding the availability of light in Nigeria.
Hence as long as there is light u consume it even when there is no need for it, because in the long run nepa go charge u waiting you no consume, and if u of your thing because the freezer don freeze the items. The time u need to on am again, there will be no light. So that man comment is bullshit and baseless let the so called nepa own up.
It’s is only in Nigeria your battery is full u still leave your gadget plugged why cos u don’t want to be caught off guard by the so call NEPAs
Can you imagine this Minister of Power saying that Nigerians don’t appreciate power that they put on their freezers when they are not at home. Does he too as a Nigerian puts off his freezer when he leaves home? Does he even pay for electricity from his personal pocket? Is it not the tax payers money that he spends to electrify his house? Arrant nonsense 😡😡😡
Did the minster really think through this? His statement takes one to back to those days when David Mark as minister of communications derogatorily stated that “telephone is not for the poor.” Then, the MTS 090 CDMA operator reigned supreme with its atrocious expensive service. That was Nigeria’s telecoms industry privatization 1.0. It took an Obasanjo to bring about telecoms industry privatization 2.0 by way of the Digital Mobile Licence auction, which has led to the current relatively efficient and competitive telecommunications operating regime.
Nigeria’s electricity industry is at the Privatisation 1.0 level. It has to move to the 2.0 level. The current over centralized system that is not only suboptimal but is also rigged against consumers has to change . The industry has to be effectively restructured for optimal output and competition. As the public functionary with constitutional responsibility for electricity policy formulation, the minister should be focused on ensuring that the industry becomes more efficient and delivers value to consumers
Given that electricity is a natural monopoly, it is imperative to have several last mile companies. The existing over centralized model that Nigeria operates does not allow for this. A different segmentation model like the type you have in the UK where several last-mile companies can operate side-by-side might be the basis of restructuring. It will also permit different types of operators with different sizes of pockets to fit into the sector. The minister should be developing a policy paper designed to convince Mr. President to embark on Electricity industry privatization 2.0. Enough of this talking down on Nigerians.
It’s true that Nigerians are not mindful of energy management. But what fraction of the population gets enough electricity supply to be able to switch off their freezers for hours at time? I can guarantee you that the increase in tariffs for Band A consumers will not translate to any significant increase in income to the providers going by the areas in this group – Ikeja, Akute, Alagbado, Oshodi, Odogunyan and the surrounding villages, etc. No Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki. No wahala.
If they want to recoup their investment plus profit, electricity providers should meter all consumers, police them and decisively deal with energy thieves. Sooner than later, Nigerians will fall in line and consume only the amount of energy they can afford.