Lagos: The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) has urged the federal and state governments to intervene in the power sector, as consumers continued to be exploited twelve years after privatisation. CARE National Coordinator, Mr. Chinedu Bosah, made the urge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Bosah, reviewing the activities of the sector for the year, said the power sector reforms still require decisive government-led corrective action to protect electricity consumers. He called for State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to establish and enforce effective consumer protection frameworks with immediate effect, highlighting that this is a core statutory responsibility that has largely been neglected.
Bosah stated that the experience over the last 12 years has shown that generation and distribution companies are unable or unwilling to invest adequately to provide reliable and value-for-money electricity. “It has become obvious that the GENCOs and DISCOs cannot attract the level of investment needed to sustainably improve power supply,” he said.
He also acknowledged some government intervention through loans and public financing; however, he mentioned that the impacts remain limited due to corruption and mismanagement. “Government investments have only scratched the surface. Even those funds could not go far enough because of massive corruption and looting by top officials,” Bosah added.
Bosah urged the government to pursue massive public investment in the sector with a transparent democratic management framework that involves electricity workers and consumers. He noted that this would require a comprehensive review of the power privatisation model, similar to deregulation policies in the oil and gas sector.
The national coordinator accused distribution companies of deliberately frustrating the provision of prepaid meters to consumers, insisting that metering remains a statutory obligation of DISCOs. “DISCOs have largely refused to meter customers unless consumers are forced to pay exorbitant fees or government intervenes with public funds,” he stated.
He explained that progress under the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) was mostly driven by government funding. At this rate, he warned, it could take another ten years to meter all customers. Bosah also questioned the sustainability of the NMMP, which targets 1.1 million meters in its first phase.
Highlighting the poor state of distribution infrastructure, Bosah said DISCOs favour revenue collection over network upgrades. “Most distribution facilities are obsolete and in terrible condition, making even minimal electricity delivery difficult,” he noted.
On the tariff issue, Bosah called on regulators to look into the Cost-Reflective Tariff (CRT) regime due to its lack of transparency and independent verification. He cited the decision of the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission to reduce Band A tariff from N209 to N160 per kilowatt-hour in July 2025 as evidence of long-standing consumer exploitation.
Bosah criticized other state regulators for their inaction and accused the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission of prioritising licensing over consumer protection. He warned that Nigeria’s power challenges extend beyond transmission, stating that distribution is the system’s weakest link. “Grid collapse is a system-wide failure. It can happen at generation, transmission or distribution levels, and distribution is currently our biggest headache,” he said.
Bosah noted one of the reasons for reduced transmission-level grid collapses in 2025 was the introduction of the Band A tariff, which had encouraged DISCOs to accept more load due to higher profit margins. However, he pointed out this had transferred failures to the distribution level, citing prolonged blackouts in several Band A communities in Aboru, Lagos State.
He urged the government to address gas pricing and pipeline challenges, accusing the deregulation of the oil and gas sector of unwittingly enabling private interests to impose prices beyond the reach of efficient power generation. “In Nigeria, gas is priced almost at the same level as in developed economies despite the country’s status as a low-income nation,” Bosah explained.
Bosah concluded by stating that the situation allows private interests and political elites to pass on the cost of inefficiencies to ordinary Nigerians. “Consumers are paying the price, and government intervention is now unavoidable,” he added.