Generators, Power Banks, And Survival

A few days ago, I wrote a post about the things to consider when renting an apartment. One of the important things I mentioned was electricity. Electricity makes life easier as most of the things we do require electricity to function. For example, our phones, laptops, and other gadgets. In my house, we use a hot plate which is powered by electricity to cook and it is only when there’s no power supply that we make use of other methods. In essence, electricity makes our lives easier and far better. Without it, we would struggle with so many things. For this week’s Sci-Fi multiverse prompt, the community invites us to share what the electricity supply in my area is like.

When I gained admission to Federal University Oye-Ekiti. I was so excited about my new journey that it didn’t even cross my mind to make proper inquiries. I did not make enquiries about the power supply in that state, particularly in the area when I rented my hostel. It was until I paid for the hostel and moved my things that it actually occurred to me we wouldn't have electricity. There were no wires or electricity poles, let alone a transformer. The first week in that hostel was not nice at all. There was no power supply to pump the water, our phones were low, our lamps didn’t last two days. So how did we survive? Well, we kept going from one hostel to another, begging people to let us charge our devices or fetch water. Many times, we faced embarrassing moments because some people chased us out of their hostels like dogs.

This was our situation for about two weeks until our landlord brought a generator to the hostel. Instead of going from one hostel to another, looking for places to fetch water, we contributed a certain amount to Nuel fuel and pump water. We also get to charge our devices. Now that I think about it, one of the reasons I took a long break from Hive that year was because of the electricity issues. On days when everyone refused to contribute, we would charge our devices in charging centers. We would plug our phones in the morning and get them back in the evening.

Things became better when I moved into another hostel. I bought my own generator and thanks to Hive, I was able to buy fuel and turn on my generator to charge my devices at least 3 times a week. I also got power banks which saved me a lot of stress and money.

The power supply in my parent’s house is way better. Although it is not steady, it is better than nothing. We get light every day. Some days are steady, and sometimes, the power company might just decide to punish us. Wicked people. Unless something happens to the transformer, which has happened a lot of times, our electricity supply is fair.

I remember the time the street's transformer exploded. I was in high school at the time. I didn't have a cell phone or any gadget that required electricity, so I wasn't really concerned about it. The only way it affected me was that I had to iron my clothes elsewhere. I had to go to a faraway place to iron my uniform. Transformers are very expensive, and there aren't many wealthy people on my street. So, it took us months (probably a year) to get a new one.

In summary, the electricity supply in my area is not steady, however, it is fair. I actually do not know what the bill is like because it is my dad that handles it. It has always been like that since before I was born.

Images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.