Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu proudly highlighted the accomplishments of his ministry during his tenure.

Adelabu celebrated the ministry’s successes since taking charge a few years ago.

Minister Adelabu announced that the ministry achieved an additional N200 billion in revenue in 2024, as reported by Saturday Tribune.

But many Lagos residents, especially consumers in the power sector, do not share in the minister’s excitement.

Of late, it has been a litany of woes from the consumers, who insist that the reforms introduced by the minister since assuming office have left them worse off.

They can no longer use their freezers, pressing irons and other energy-sapping appliances.

Unfortunately, they believe the minister has abandoned them to the whims and caprices of the distribution companies (DisCos) in the state.

The DisCos, they claim, have continued to rip them off under the noses of the minister and other relevant regulatory authorities in the sector.

Some of them argue that despite being placed on Band A, they have been contending with epileptic power supply in their localities.

Recently, residents of Aguda and Ayetoro CDA in Surulere expressed their displeasure over exorbitant electricity bills despite poor power supply to the supposedly Band A consumers.

They allege that they receive less than 10 hours of electricity daily, instead of the over 20 hours meant for Band A consumers. Besides, they claim that N10,000 worth of electricity units last less than two hours.

They are therefore calling on the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to return them to Band C, where they believe they truly belong based on the hours of electricity their community receives.

“What they are giving us is even more than our house rent. If you load N10,000 now, it won’t last two hours. Despite the high tariff, we are not getting electricity adequately,” Mr. Jimoh Ajala, the Aguda CDA leader, lamented in a video.

Ajala said, “I am here because of EKEDC. This is a residential area, not commercial. Like yesterday, they took the light four times for four hours each. We are requesting that the DisCo should return us to Band B or C. The tariff is for commercial users and we are not; we are residential.”

Another resident, Adeyanju from Ayetoro CDA, corroborated Ajala’s claims, saying that what they pay for electricity is more than their house rent.

“We are paying more than our house rent for light. This is killing us. They should return us to Band D,” he said.

Jimoh Ajala and other Aguda CDA residents in Surulere protested at the Ikoyi Federal High Court, demanding government action against their exorbitant electricity bills.Interestingly, they are not alone.

Many Lagos residents are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their electricity bills due to several factors, including the harsh economy, rising inflation, high transportation costs and rent, among others.

Source: Saturday Tribune