Urging NERC To Inform Nigeria’s 11 DisCos That Irregular Power Supply Can Kill As Heat Waves Hit Households.

By Isaac Asabor*

Mr. Kazeem Akintunde, in his column, aptly titled “Discourse,” and regularly published on New Dawn Nigeria, an online news platform, anchored his views on a salient topic with the aforementioned title.

He wrote, “There was an unusual type of protest in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, a few days ago. The protest was unusual because the protesters were young women in their prime who were fed up with their marital situation.

The women, primarily from Mile 2 and Mile 3 of the densely populated Diobu settlement, barricaded the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), near the popular Isaac Boro Park, lamenting that their husbands no longer have sex with them at night and blaming the PHED, which has not consistently supplied electricity to the area.

The brain-resetting heatwave that has enveloped major parts of the country in the last few days has only exacerbated their problems.”
At this point, allow this writer to confess that Akintunde’s views on heat wave are no doubt graphically portrayed as they are expressed from the perspective of a human angle narrative, and on that basis, it can be said that having read his views, it was expedient to embark on browsing online health journals and websites to gain a deep understanding of what heat wave is all about.

Besides the aforementioned reasons for embarking on the journey of browsing the internet in search of health or medical oriented journals in the bid to gain a deep understanding of what heat wave is all about, it is equally expedient to confess that the red flag that was earlier waved by the leadership of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), particularly as it announced on Wednesday last week that the excessive heat being currently experienced in the country would remain.

The situation has become increasingly concerning in recent days, particularly as the country’s already dire electricity supply situation has undoubtedly deteriorated due to gas supply shortages, primarily as a result of Generation Companies’ (Gencos) inability to pay their gas supplier bills.

Many Nigerians who are now sleeping outside, taking multiple baths per day, or suffering from severe heat rashes have recently taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the current situation, blaming the authorities for their plight.

It should be noted in this context that the leadership of EKo Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EKEDP), one of the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies, was not unaware of its failures, like other DisCos, in terms of providing quality service to its customers, as it apologised to them on Wednesday last week, blaming gas supply glitches, which it claimed had hampered producers’ ability to make the product available.

In a statement, the DisCo pleaded: “Dear valued customer, the current limited supply you are experiencing is due to low grid allocation caused by gas shortages to generating companies.

“We are working with our partners to find a resolution as soon as possible, and we will keep you updated as the situation progresses. Please bear with us.

In a similar vein, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) stated that the poor power supply currently experienced in the South-east was beyond its control, blaming the situation on low energy generation, which has resulted in a decrease in power supply availability.

Mr. Emeka Ezeh, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, has pleaded with its customers, who are primarily residents of the country’s south-east region, to bear with the company as the quality of service has declined.

“We understand the inconvenience this situation has caused our valued customers and ask for their understanding because it is beyond our control. “We can only distribute what has been allocated to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), Nigeria’s official source for weather and climate news, has warned that the country’s current heat wave will last for some time.

On its official X handle, the agency stated that temperatures have now reached 41°C in the north and 39°C in the south, and that the changing conditions have serious health implications.

“Air temperatures reached 41°C over the North and 39°C over the South, with model projections indicating that temperatures will remain high in the coming days,” it stated.

NiMET stated that the following weather conditions could cause dehydration and fainting: chicken pox disease, measles, heat rash, weakness of the body, mild fever, and dry lips.

It warned that it could also cause other heat-related illnesses, respiratory problems, and increased vulnerability to chronic conditions, and advised Nigerians to drink plenty of fluids, seek shade, use fans, and dress in light, breathable clothing to limit their exposure to high temperatures.

They also advised residents to avoid strenuous physical activity during peak heat hours and to spend as much time indoors as possible between 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm.
To add to the aforementioned warnings, Tanimola Akande, a professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin in Kwara state, recently told Punch Newspaper, specifically in its February 16, 2024 online edition in a feature article titled, “Heatwave: Nigerians risk death, other hazards amid worsening outage,” that excessive heat could lead to death if severe dehydration occurs and proper precautions are not taken.

“Hot weather frequently leads to dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat rash, and heat cramps. Prof Akande stated that it can worsen the health of people with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

According to him, everyone is at risk of being exposed to high temperatures, but this is especially true for people who work outside or have heavy manual physical workloads.

Given the foreboding atmosphere that literarily hovers around the prevailing heat wave across the country, which has undoubtedly been exacerbated by the 11 DisCos’ inability to deliver quality services to their customers across the country, it would be remiss not to applaud the federal government for recently vowing to impose a 50% sanction on electricity distribution companies for frequent outages and poor service delivery to consumers. The reason for applauding the government for issuing the warning is not farfetched, as not a few medics and health workers have demonstrated that an irregular power supply during a heat wave can be fatal.

It should be noted that the government’s position was recently stated by Musiliu Useni, vice chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in a statement on the Commission’s X account.

The statement reads, “NERC will evaluate performance on a case-by-case basis. Sanctions and actions will not be identical. Ensure that you increase your efficiency. If your efficiency is as expected, you will receive your full OPEX. If you do not perform, you will only receive 50% of your admin OPEX.

At this point, it is pragmatic to urge NERC leadership that, in addition to threatening the 11 DisCos with a 50% sanction, it would be prudent for it to inform the power distribution companies that irregular power supply can kill as heat waves hit households across the country.