From the reactions to the report on social media, the framing of the headline misled many into believing that complaints about the high cost of electricity in Abia are a state-wide phenomenon
On Sunday, the Vanguard newspaper published a report about the cost of electricity in Abia State. According to the report, the residents of the state are lamenting the high cost of electricity. The report has elicited mixed reactions among Nigerians in the context of the electricity generation and distribution in the state.
While the headline of the report reads “Electricity now costlier than house rent — Abia residents groan over crazy bills”, the details of the report consist of slightly different pieces of information. The respondents and those interviewed for the report are in Umuhia, the state capital but from the headline, the impression one gets is that the entire Abia state is grappling with high cost of electricity and the lamentation about this is coming from the preponderance of the state’s residents and not a handful of dwellers in one local government out of the 17 councils in the state.
Electricity distribution structure in Abia State
The state has two privately run electricity companies, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company and Aba power limited electric, which is the distribution arm of Geometric Power, an indigenous power company which was inaugurated in 2024.
Following the coming on board of Geometric Power Limited, it reached an agreement with Enugu Disco to take over some local government areas of Abia state under the latter’s electricity distribution cluster. After an agreement was reached, nine local government areas of the seventeen which are Aba South, Aba North, Osisioma, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Isiala Ngwa South, and Isiala Ngwa North were transferred to Aba Power Limited This designated service area of the company is known as the ‘Aba Ring Fence’.
Since removing these councils from the electricity provision purview of Enugu DISCO and placing them under the Aba Power Limited, there have been testimonies from residents of the councils under the ‘Aba Ring Fence’ and those who have visited the area have reported reliable and stable electricity in with reports of the areas enjoying up to 20 hours of electricity every day.
Umuhia, alongside the remaining eight local governments, is still under Enugu Electricity Distribution Company.
Verdict
From the reaction to the report on social media, the framing of the headline, which is clearly a clickbait, misled many into believing that complaints about high cost of electricity in Abia is a state-wide phenomenon which spurred many into questioning the cost-effectiveness and reliability of electricity provided by geometric power and if the testimonies about how stable power has become since the company started operation two years ago are true or mere propaganda to prop up the state government.
It is not all the residents of Abia state that are groaning under the weight of exorbitant and exploitative electricity tariffs but the residents of Umuhia, the state capital, and this has been attributed to certain factors. Umuahia residents are still largely on post-paid meters, hence are charged for electricity consumption via estimated billing which makes it hard for residents to calculate and ascertain how much electricity they use.
The details of the report by Vanguard did not state that those residing in the nine local government areas covered by the geometric power are complaining about the high cost of electricity. This is not unconnected to the fact that the majority of those in these local government areas are on prepaid meters and they pay for what they consume and not what the electricity company estimates for them in power consumption.
Last December, Abia state governor announced that plans are underway to remove the state completely from the national grid and place it under geometric power infrastructure with the expansion and increment of the company’s power generation and distribution capacity. What this means is that the remaining eight local governments currently under Enugu DISCO will be extricated from the company.
