Many residents and business owners across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Sunday said they had turned to alternative sources of power following weeks of erratic electricity supply.
Some of the residents, who live in Kubwa, Nyanya, Lugbe, Dei-Dei, Gwagwalada and their environs, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Many said the blackout had lasted more than three weeks, disrupting economic activities, damaging perishable goods and increasing household expenses.
They said they now relied on solar energy and generating sets to power their businesses and homes.
A businessman residing in Kubwa, Mr Uche Nwoko described the power supply as ‘very, very epileptic’.
Nwoko said he was forced to seek alternative sources of power generation because of the unstable electricity supply.
He said small businesses that depended on electricity to preserve goods and operate equipment had been forced to rely on generators and inverters despite the rising cost of fuel.
A frozen fish seller also residing in Kubwa, Mrs Rita John said the outage had made it difficult to preserve her stock, forcing her to spend more on alternative power sources and drastically reducing her profit.
‘I sell frozen fish and I need constant electricity to do business, so I have to spend money to install solar to preserve my goods’, she said.
A resident of Lugbe, Mr Isaac Odigie said he switched to solar power more than a year ago after years of poor electricity supply.
According to him, solar power offered a reliable source of electricity regardless of what happened to the national grid.
A barber in Zuba, Mr James Okon, said he spent about N35,000 per week on generator fuel before switching to solar power, which now supplied electricity to his shop with little maintenance.
Mrs Angela Okafor, a petty trader residing in Gwagwalada, said she started using solar power because of the erratic electricity supply in her area.
Okafor said the unstable power supply was affecting her business, adding that she was operating at a loss.
‘Electricity is not stable. Sometimes, it comes for two or three hours in a day; at times, it does not come at all.
‘Since I started using solar, my business has improved a lot, and I always have cold drinks to sell to my customers’, she said.
A resident of Dei-Dei who sells drinks and water, Mrs Grace Emeje said the unstable power supply had forced her to switch to solar energy for her business.
Emeje said the area was usually dark at night, but solar power had made her shop brighter and attracted customers from afar.
‘Solar has helped improve my business compared to before, when I had to close early because there was no power supply.
‘Also, my children usually come to the shop to do their homework since there is no electricity at home’, she said.
A fashion designer in Nyanya, Mr Joseph Ibrahim said he switched to solar power to ensure his business could meet customers’ demands.
‘I decided to move to solar to meet my target and satisfy my customers’ demands’, he said.
Ibrahim said his business had improved significantly since he started using solar power, adding that he no longer worried about power outages.
