For this prompt, we invite you to share with us how the electricity supply in your area is like. Do they ration the light or is it steady? Have they ever stolen your street's transformer? If yes, how did your street manage to navigate through this hardship? How big is your electric bill and how is the power supply like?

Hello #scifimultiverse, TGIF I trust your day is going well. I am excited to be participating in this week's prompt. Welcome to my blog as we deliberate on the electricity supply. I am looking forward to reading your feedback in the comment section.

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Growing up with my parents, we lived in a rural area without electricity. We were using lanterns, manual stoves and charcoal pots to cook.

Thereafter, transfer and promotion in the local government transformed our lives. We were brought to the city. That period marked a great change and transformation in our family settings. We were told a lot of things about the city, that water and light are everywhere. We happily looked forward to the date until it successfully happened, and happily, we transitioned from rural living to urban living. One of the things that was loud and widely expected was this transformation from candles and lanterns to electricity. And yes, it happened. We parked all our lanterns and stoves and started enjoying electricity, so to speak.

The Ups and Downs In My Country's Electricity System

However, that enjoyment was cut short with erratic and intermittent power supply, which damaged some of our newly acquired electronic gadgets. This brought much pain to my parents as it was not expected. Again, the emissaries exaggerated the electricity and painted pictures of how the shower and the heater would bathe us. In fact, they built castles for us in the air. Arriving with high expectations, my parents went shopping and acquired a lot of electronic gadgets for the new house.

As a novice in the electronic world, my parents did not purchase any stabiliser or surge protectors to protect the household appliances, so one after the other, they were burning due to erratic power supply. Our fans' contactors burnt, the Television was blown, our electric Kettle was blown, and other electronics as well.

My parents were confused. In that state, a parishioner visited us, and my parents explained to him our ordeal regarding electricity. He explained the best way to manage electricity in the city, which we adjusted to pending the purchase of gadgets meant to protect our electrical appliances. This took a while because of the resources required to restore the bad ones while purchasing the surge protectors. This was our phase one experience.

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A few weeks later, we started experiencing blackouts. Sometimes, the light will stay for two or three days before it is restored. The landlords called for a meeting with the tenants, and a NEPA representative informed the meeting that the transformer is weak and would not be able to sustain all the streets using it. That was when the idea of rationing the light was implemented.

As if to say that was not enough, the transformer blew off one Sunday evening. Findings revealed that some vandals tampered with the components of the transformer. This issue lasted for over six months.

But the annoying aspect was that we were still receiving electricity bills, and the bills were doubling every month, even without a power supply. Some concerned tenants met with some official representatives of the electricity company. They were informed that an estimated multiplier is used to calculate the bill, hence the bogus bills.

Completed and On-going Transformations

In 2004, the need for transformation and repositioning of the electricity company necessitated privatising the firm for efficiency and reliability. NEPA transformed to PHCN, but the change did not happen. However, some remarkable transformations and landmarks were achieved, including the introduction of 11 distribution companies, one transmission and six generation companies to repackage the parastatal for the improvement of power supply in the country.

In 2006, the business introduced the use of prepaid meters for efficiency and metered utilisation of power supply, which was channelled towards boosting power supply and stabilising the voltage. This step was taken to eradicate the use of bill estimation. There were improvements and achievements in all the steps taken by the business, but not as envisaged by the consumers. Since this could not resolve the challenge, they went back to the drawing board.

In November 2020, the Service-Based-Tariff was introduced by the commission to improve service delivery to consumers. The implication is that some consumers were placed on different bands, like band A and band B, to stabilise the power supply. This has yielded results because some places currently have up to 22 hours of power supply. Yet, not with its own challenges. Those on Band A pay exorbitant charges for the power supply compared to those in Band B. But the power supply for the bands varies.

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Presently, it is alleged that the same organisation which could not boast of a stable and steady power supply to its citizens is supplying 24-hour electricity to neighbouring countries. While I am unable to verify this information, it has been in the news, and the citizens are unhappy about it.

Hundreds of citizens have resorted to using Solar and alternative green energy. While it looks like a recent trend, it is a food for thought for the electricity company in my country. The electricity journey in my country has been one of joy today, pain tomorrow. However, it still leaves us with the saying that change is constant. I think that with steady pressure from competitors like the solar industry, and with the introduction of green energy, which is eco-friendly.

The commission is gradually regaining momentum. I say this because in some parts of the country, there are success stories of 22-hour power supply and other testaments. With these improvements, my country and the commission will get it right one day.

Thank you for reading.