So, you’ve been promoted to Band A in Nigeria’s electricity tariff kingdom. You’re paying premium rates, expecting at least 18 hours of power supply daily, as clearly promised under the Multi-Year Tariff Order. You’re even bragging to your neighbours about your new “VIP status” in the world of electricity or you may be angry at being elevated to Band A because you’re not keen on paying the tariff.
But then, bam! NEPA (sorry, DisCo) strikes. The lights go out, and they don’t come back for hours. You check the feeder report, and guess what? It says your feeder is performing just fine. So, where exactly is all that power going? Ghost consumption?
Let’s break it down—with a little less voltage and a lot more clarity.
First Things First: What’s Causing This Short-Changing?
There are a few legit reasons you might not be getting your full 18-hour service, even though you’re being billed like you’re living in Victoria Island:
- Grid collapse or transmission hiccups – These affect everyone equally. Band A, Band Z, or Band Jedi—you’re not special when the national grid does its usual somersault.
- DisCo’s local management tricks – Now here’s where things get interesting.
When Band A tariffs kicked in around April 2024, everyone quickly realised something: not everyone can afford it. Especially not for folks in shanty settlements, rural areas, or agrarian communities, where the main concern is fishing, farming, or simply surviving, not premium electricity plans.
DisCos, being businesses (and not charities), had to make a choice: do they supply electricity to customers who may not pay up, or do they, like banks, only give “facilities” (in this case, electricity) to people who can repay?
Cue the use of autoreclosers and subfeeders. Sounds fancy, right? Let’s explain:
- An autorecloser is like that persistent ex—it keeps coming back. It’s a smart circuit breaker that detects faults (such as a tree falling on a line), trips the circuit, and then automatically attempts to restore power. Very useful … but also very convenient for DisCos who want to control supply quietly.
- A subfeeder is just a side street in the power highway. It branches off the main feeder to serve smaller areas. It allows DisCos to deliver less electricity to a specific area, like giving out jollof rice in rations.
So, what do DisCos do? They create subfeeders or use autoreclosers to reduce electricity to areas that can’t (or won’t) pay Band A rates, but they forget to tell their billing systems. The result? You’re still paying for first-class while sitting in economy. Not cool.
When Premium Pricing Meets Budget Service
Here’s where customers start (rightfully) getting angry. If a DisCo deliberately cuts your hours by using a subfeeder or autorecloser, they’re supposed to also downgrade your billing band to reflect the new service level. That’s called being honest. Unfortunately, honesty in NESI sometimes needs a transformer of its own.
So instead, many customers keep vending Band A, but get Band C (or worse) performance. And when you complain, they look surprised, like you’re the problem.
Before You File That Complaint, Check These First!
We get it that you’re frustrated and ready to storm the DisCo office like a reality show eviction night. But before you make that move, here are a few checks that can save you stress (and time):
1. Is it a one-off or a pattern?
One or two bad days might just be a technical glitch (or the grid having a mood swing). But if you’ve been getting less than 18 hours for more than a month, that’s a pattern and definitely complaint-worthy. Pro tip: NERC assesses feeder performance between the 8th and 21st of every month, so monitor supply during that window.
2. Check with your neighbours
Are they on a different tariff band, even though you all live on the same feeder? That’s a red flag. It means your DisCo may have forgotten (or “forgotten”) to update their customer database properly.
3. Complain to the right people in the right order
Don’t go straight to NERC or the FCCPC just yet. The Customer Protection Regulations 2023 say you must first lodge a complaint with your DisCo and only escalate if they ignore or mishandle it within the stipulated time. Give them a fair shot even if you’re not holding your breath.
Final Spark ⚡
So, next time you find yourself in the dark, literally and figuratively, don’t assume it’s just bad luck. It might be a billing mismatch, a sneaky subfeeder, or a good old case of database neglect.
You’re paying for Band A, and you deserve to get what you paid for—not some “adjusted service” cooked up in the backroom.
Light up your rights — don’t let DisCos dim your shine.
