Let there be light

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Electricity is life and for me, it is that which makes living worthwhile. You know there is something about it that brings joy and excitement. This joy is such that even when you are hungry sometimes, you won't feel the hunger pangs. For those of us in Nigeria who understand the satisfaction that power supply brings via electricity, I guess it is ok to include it as the 7th class of food lol.

The other day on discord, @helicreamarket and I plus other city members at the neoxian city were having a chit chat. Then she brought to our notice that they experienced some power outage. It was quite weird because I have always thought that Nigeria was the only country with power supply issues. According to Heli, electricity is being rationed in Venezuela where she's from. That revelation sparked a curiosity in me because I understand despite their oil wealth, the Venezuela economy is just as rotten as ours in Nigeria. So I took a reading.

I went on a research spree checking out the strength of power supply in various struggling economies across the globe. I drew a pattern and came to the realization that lack of power supply can be denoted as one of the major culprits of economic hardship. In my research, I discovered that one thing these countries have in common is the epileptic power supply.

And then I came back home to the Nigerian economy to crown my discovery. We see that despite being tagged the giant of Africa, it's no news that most foreign investors would rather not invest here because the poor power supply is bad for business.

Let us look at how electricity is being distributed in Nigeria.

There are 5 bands (A to E) supplying electricity at specific hours here. The highest power supply time which is for band A has power available for a minimum of 20 hours daily. While the following Bands B to E has a minimum available power of 16 to 4 hours respectively.

During my service year to the nation(NYSC) I served in Abonnema, Rivers State where the power supply is almost constant. Since it's an oil-producing community, electricity is being funded by the local government and the power rarely goes off. The same can be said for most oil-producing communities in Nigeria. Thus, it simply means that they are operating the band A. There's also a line called federal line available to the elites and other middle class plus corporate bodies that can afford it. Although the federal line do not share in the capacity of power supply like the communities that I mentioned, it can still be classified as band A.

For other states that I have been to, there are relatively reasonable hours of power supply by Nigerian standards. Again, thanks to my Friend who is knowledgeable on how power supply works here, I have since known that power being supplied to an area is greatly dependent on the ability of the people to offset their electricity bill.

Interestingly, there are people in my country whose postpaid (estimated) bills have an outstanding payment of millions of naira. You see these sets of people, they are subscribers to the band E and they are being charged directly for power consumption through estimated billing (postpaid). Then for those who usually offset their electricity bills, power supply is better and the electricity distribution company provides them with a prepaid meter.

In my compound, we have utilized the postpaid as well as the prepaid option at different times. From experience, the prepaid metering is a more cheaper option of billing, it is better, as well as more efficient.

For an alternate power source to cushion the effect of electricity failure, I understand that the Solar source of power is currently making waves and my country is not left out. Sadly, we face the challenge of expertise, proper installation and technical know how. You hear complaints from people about spending tens of millions for Solar installation yet they can't get the same satisfaction that they derive from electricity.

For me, I don't see Solar panels as a replacement for electricity but rather, it's a support system because in my opinion, nothing can beat electrical energy. At my previous place of employment and when I went for a visit at my aunt's in Lagos, I saw first hand how the solar panels and electricity worked side by side in providing power. The cooperation was such that when there is electricity during the day, the solar is conserving energy and when the electricity goes off at night, it comes up for us to enjoy it. But then when trying to go off grid, I noticed that the Solar panels and its batteries were no longer as efficient.

Seeing how neither the solar panels nor the electrical grid can provide us 100% power supply in Nigeria, it would be advisable for people to utilize both and even include a generator for peace of mind.

Noticed how I did not start writing what the government and the various power company should do and not do? Yeah, I love practical and feasible solutions because the people in power that we might want to write to advice, know exactly what to do for better living option but just won't do it.

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