DisCos And Their Oppressed Customers

 By I.D. Nga

What exactly were Nigerians supposed to gain from the pri­vatization of the power sector? What, for instance, made the new power distribution companies (DIS­COs) preferable to the much despised and now defunct NEPA or PHCN? Or was the privatization programme just another scheme to put power supply in different (preferred) hands, and nothing more?

A key issue with the new arrangement is that the citizens are still denied the op­tion of choice. In the telecommunications sector, once you lose interest in one service provider, you can simply throw away its SIM card and obtain that of another. But in the case of the power sector, you are perpetu­ally stuck with the particular DISCO un­der whose fiefdom you fall into by virtue of where your accommodation is located. And so, even if you are not happy with their dismal and excruciating style of operations, you cannot leave them, and you have no one to run to for help.

Nigeria: A Nation In Darkness

 By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa 

For the umpteenth time, the epileptic national grid collapsed over the weekend again, resulting in blackout in most parts of the country. A terse statement from the Ministry of Power attributed the collapse to “the partial shutdown of the Oben gas plant to address the repair of critical gas processing equipment. The incident unfortunately occurred at a time when other power plants on other gas sources are undergoing planned maintenance and capacity testing.” 

You cannot fault this empty logic, can you? This has been the story of power supply in Nigeria and it is unlikely that things will change. In times past, we used to look forward to the rainy season because it births a temporary moment of stability in electricity generation. It is possible that this year, some supernatural forces have blocked the flow of water in all the dams, especially now that diesel sells for about N800 per litre.

Power generation is the main issue with regard to the socio-economic development of any nation. In Nigeria however, successive governments have deployed it for political gains, knowing the importance that Nigerians attach to it. Thus in 2015 when it was canvassing for votes from the electorate, the All Progressives Congress stated as follows: