The Power Holding Company of Nigeria Limited (PHCN) may have addressed a common frustration among Nigerians, who are hounded with expensive monthly bills despite seeing very little electricity power supply.
An official of the company in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, identified as Innocent Lord-Douglas, speaking in a video, which has now gone viral, shed light on why electricity consumers often face high charges even when they only receive one hour of light in a month.
Responding to a situation many Nigerians have long complained that utility companies provide minimal service while demanding maximum payment, Lord-Douglas, a former Public Relations Officer of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), stated that at the core of the issue is that electricity consumption, not supply duration, drives billing.
During the interview, the PHCN official explained that the surge in a customer’s bill often happens because of “catch-up” activities, explaining that when power finally returns after a long absence, residents tend to turn on every appliance they own simultaneously, including heavy consumption ones, to make the most of the limited time window.
“Well, light is given to people after a period of maybe one week, two weeks, or one month, and eventually an energy is being given to that neighbourhood for one hour.”
“Within that one hour, the people living around that area are going to perform the functions they have not done for one month. They are going to power their freezers; they are going to power their washing machine.”
“At the same time, they are going to power their water pumping machine; they are going to power their oven, microwave, everything. And they are going to engage in ironing because they are going to work for one month, because they don’t know next time they are going to get the light.”
“So, these activities will happen in one hour. And the energy that’s supposed to be consumed for one week has been consumed in two hours. And when a bill comes, people try to fight. ‘Why are you giving me a bill?’ The energy consumption is not based on the hour. It’s based on the consumption.”
When pressed on whether charges are based on how long the power stays on, Lord-Douglas, who is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Managers and Administrators (FIPMA) clarified that the focus is strictly on how much energy is pulled from the grid, regardless of the timeframe.
“No, it’s not how long the power stays. The power can stay for one week if you’re not at home. Nothing happened to your energy. You didn’t use it. Your meter will not blink.”
“But it can be at home for one hour, and you can use energy that somebody will not use for one week. So, it’s about the usage, and we plead that people should understand this and pay whenever they come to them.”