- Residents across Abuja report prolonged power outages, business losses and water shortages, with landlords’ associations planning a protest if supply remains disrupted.
- AEDC and TCN attribute the outages to transmission faults and substation maintenance, promising to restore electricity to affected areas.
Residents across parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have lamented prolonged electricity outages that have disrupted businesses, water supply and daily activities, while landlords’ associations in Ushafa, Dutse and Kubwa plan to protest on Monday if power supply remains unstable.
Fatima Muhammad, a resident of Kubwa, mentioned that the blackout had disrupted her household and baking business. She said the outage prevented her from operating her water-pumping machine and caused some of her baked products to spoil, resulting in financial losses.
Other residents have expressed frustration over the duration of the outages and the response of electricity authorities. Peace Kanu, a user on X, reported that Dutse had experienced two days without electricity and urged the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to accelerate restoration efforts.
Another user, Christian, criticised the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for failing to resolve complaints promptly, saying residents had endured five days without power. Nazeerah also reported a three-week outage in Area 8, Garki, describing the situation as overwhelming.
Residents have raised concerns about the reliability of electricity supply, particularly for customers paying Band A tariffs. An X user identified as BLVCKK alleged that the supply pattern had become inconsistent despite the higher tariff category. Other complaints covered Bwari, the Nigerian Law School area, Ushafa, Bmuko, Kubwa and adjoining communities.
TCN attributed one of the disruptions to planned maintenance at its 132/33kV Kubwa Substation. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company said the exercise would prevent AEDC from receiving electricity for customers in Kubwa, Bwari, Army Resettlement, parts of Dutse Alhaji and adjoining areas during the maintenance period.
AEDC also announced on Friday that a technical fault on TCN’s 330kV Shiroro-Katampe transmission line had disrupted electricity supply across several parts of the FCT. The affected locations included Garki, parts of Apo, Asokoro, Wuse Zones 1 and 2, Wuye, Jabi, Utako, Jahi, Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Kubwa, Dawaki, Dutse, Dei-Dei, Suleja and surrounding communities.
The distribution company said TCN’s technical team was working to resolve the fault and restore stability to the national grid. AEDC assured customers that electricity supply would return to affected areas once the transmission line was cleared.
The prolonged outages have heightened concerns about the impact of unreliable electricity on small businesses, food preservation, household water access and operating costs. Businesses that depend on refrigeration and electric equipment face potential losses, while households may need alternative power sources to sustain essential activities.
The planned protest reflects growing dissatisfaction among residents who want electricity authorities to resolve persistent supply problems. Landlords’ associations in Ushafa, Dutse and Kubwa intend to proceed with the demonstration on Monday if the situation remains unchanged.
The latest complaints follow remarks by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, at the September commissioning of a three-megawatt solar hybrid power project at the University of Abuja. Tegbe said some areas that previously went without electricity for months had begun receiving up to 18 hours of supply daily.
“Places that didn’t have light at all for three months are now having 18 hours of light. Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing,” Tegbe said.
He defended the improvement in electricity supply, adding, “That is what a freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen.”
However, the latest outages have renewed calls for faster fault resolution, improved communication and more reliable electricity distribution across the FCT. Residents await the restoration of supply as landlords’ associations prepare to protest over the disruption.