Power
MANY residents and business owners across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Sunday said that they have turned to alternative power supply following weeks of erratic power supply.
Some of the residents, who reside in Kubwa, Nyanya, Lugbe, Dei-Dei, Gwagwalada and environs spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Many of the residents said that the blackout had lasted more than three weeks, disrupting economic activities, damaging perishable goods and increasing household expenses.
Mr Uche Nwoko, a business man residing in Kubwa described power supply as “very, very epileptic.
Nwoko said that he was forced to source other means of power generation due to unstable power supply.
He said that small businesses that depended on electricity to preserve goods and operate equipment had been forced to rely on generators and inverters in spite of the rising cost of fuel.
Mrs Rita John, a frozen fish seller also residing in Kubwa, said that the outage made it difficult to preserve her stock, forcing her to spend more on alternative power sources, which had reduced her profit drastically.
”i sell frozen fish and I need constant electricity to do business, so l have to spend money to install solar to preserve my goods,” she said.
Mr Issac Odigie, a resident of Lugbe said that he switched to solar more than a year ago after years of poor supply.
According to him, with solar he knows what to expect regardless of what happens to the 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 provided electricity for his shop with little maintenance.
Mrs Angela Okafor, a petty trader residing in Gwagwalada, said that she started using solar power because of the epileptic power supply in her area.
Okon said that electricity was not stable and her business was suffering, adding that she was running 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.
Mrs Grace Emeje, a resident of Dei-Dei, who sells drinks and water, said that unstable power supply made her turn to solar power for her business.
Emeje said that at night, the area was usually dark, but with solar power, it became bright, attracting customers from afar to the shop.
“Solar has helped improve my business compared to before where I have to close early because there is no power supply.
“Also, my children usually come to the shop to do their homework since there is no electricity at home,” she said
Mr Joseph Ibrahim, a Fashion designer in Nyanya, said he converted to solar power for his business to meet his customers demand.
“I decided to move to solar to meet my target and satisfy my customers demand,” he said.
Ibrahim said that since he started using solar, his business had greatly improved, adding that he no longer borders about electricity outage. (NAN)
A.I
Nov. 8, 2026
Tags: Mr Issac Odigie Mr James Okon Mr Joseph Ibrahim