Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have continued to count their losses following the power blackouts in most parts of the Territory.
According to reports, poor power supply, or blackouts, in some parts had lingered for more than a month. While some parts of the Territory are supplied power for some hours, some areas have not even had it for five consecutive days.
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, (AEDC), had attributed the poor supply of electricity to its franchise areas to low power-generation from the national grid. This is according to the AEDC Chief Marketing Officer, Donald Etim, who stated this in an issued statement in Abuja on March 4.
“In recent weeks, the level of power generated and served to the national grid for onward delivery to customers has been abysmally low,” Etim said. The development had led to load shedding in the affected areas.
Electricity consumers residing in Lugbe, Kuje, Area10, Central Area, Kubwa told newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, that the poor power supply had affected their sources of income as well as their health.
Miss Esohe Omohe, a Fashion Designer, while lamenting the situation, said that in the last two months the power situation had worsened, thereby affecting her business.
Omohe said that the fuel scarcity had worsened the situation as she could not get fuel to power her generator. According to her, most fueling stations have refused to sell in jerry cans.
Similarly, an Ice-block seller, Uche Okoro, described the light situation as “bad and worrisome”. Okoro said that the electricity supply was not regular as it used to be in the past, adding that the power supply had been epileptic for more than a month.
In Jedo Estate, along Airport Road, a welder, Innocent Okpara, said the lack of stable electricity supply in the area had continued to affect his work, saying that he now depends only on the generator to do his job.
He also lamented that the electricity situation in the area had worsened in the last two months and that this had adversely affected his income.
A barbing salon owner in Kuje, Jude Omokhua, said lack of stable electricity supply had always been his major challenge. Omokhua said that the most annoying thing was that there was no fuel to power his generator, adding that in spite of the situation, AEDC officials still brought electricity bills that must be settled.
Also, a printer at UTC Shopping Mall in Area-10, Shola Balogun, said the poor power supply had crippled business activities in the area.
“I do a lot of printing, but presently there is no electricity to work, no fuel to power my generator, I am appealing to the government to come to our aid as we are really suffering”, Balogun said.
Recall that the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, had, at a recent ministerial briefing, said that the erratic power supply being experienced nationwide was caused by the low water levels in the nation’s hydro-power stations.
