Blackouts: DisCos Apologise to Nigerians, Warn Against Return of Blame Game

Electricity distribution companies have apologised to Nigerians over weeks of prolonged blackouts, and warned that finger-pointing among sector operators is making the crisis worse.

The managing director and CEO of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, offered the apology on Monday while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily. He said Nigerians had been put through hardship and were owed an acknowledgement.

Oduntan said the sector had slipped back into the pattern of 2016 to 2019, when DisCos, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), generation companies (GenCos) and gas suppliers each blamed another link in the chain for poor supply, with gas suppliers pointing to unpaid bills. He said the habit must be stopped.

He also took issue with conflicting explanations from other agencies. The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) had attributed the shortfall partly to low water levels and inadequate gas supply, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) later said gas was available.

Oduntan said the NNPC statement left out key facts, accusing the company of telling “half-truths”. He said the company should state plainly whether gas had been paid for and delivered, and by whom.

He called on the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, to take charge by bringing all the parties together to establish the real causes of the shortages.

The apology comes as households and businesses cope with outages made harder by intense dry-season heat and El Niño conditions. Customers on Band A, who are entitled to at least 20 hours of supply daily, say they are not getting it, which has raised fresh questions about the Band A, B and C tariff structure. Higher petrol and diesel prices have made generators costlier to run, while solar panels, batteries and inverters remain out of reach for many families and small businesses.

The outages have drawn public criticism. Actress Kate Henshaw said households have effectively become “mini-factories” because they must generate their own power. Content creator Cute Abiola appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu in a video over the heat and the lack of affordable alternatives.

The crisis has revived attention on Tinubu’s 2023 campaign pledge to fix electricity supply and end estimated billing. Speaking to the Organised Private Sector in Lagos, he said Nigerians should not vote for him in a second term if he failed to deliver, unless he gave adequate reasons.

Some Nigerians and civil society groups have called for Tegbe’s resignation, accusing him of failing to address the problem. The calls followed his Saturday appeal for calm and a promise that supply would improve within 72 hours.

On Monday, Tegbe said power had been restored to parts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Kwara states and the Federal Capital Territory after disruptions partly caused by vandalism of a critical 330-kilovolt line. He said the Benin-Egbin line had been repaired and returned to service, lifting supply to the Lagos Complex above 1,000 megawatts, the level before the disruption.