There is a popular saying, ‘knowledge is power’. This saying has proven to be true over the years as humanity has seen the benefits of education, whether formal or informal. This happens to be the same case with the electricity sector in Nigeria.
In every industry, every sector of every economy, there are stakeholders. A stakeholder refers to a party that can affect or be affected by the decisions guiding any business. In the electricity sector, the customers are the most important stakeholders.
One of the reasons for the customers’ relevance is the fact that electricity is produced for them. Therefore, when customers decide not to pay for electricity for any reason, it would critically affect the electricity sector.
In this case, the saying, ‘knowledge is power’ would be paramount, assuming the customers are aware of their rights and responsibilities and other regulations guiding the electricity industry.
The sad truth is that in Nigeria, ‘knowledge is power’ does not apply to electricity customers because they do not know in the first place. Through the just concluded customer engagement programmes in Lagos, Ibadan and Asaba, organised by Nextier Power and funded by the MacArthur Foundation, it is evident that customers are oblivious of the industry’s recommendations.
During the forums, customers were completely uninformed about their rights and responsibilities. The customers had many complaints to lay and were impressed at the end of the forums for the new knowledge they had the opportunity to gain.
The education of electricity customers may not be welcome to Distribution Companies (DisCos) because they would think customers would ruin their reputation. However, the DisCos have to keep an open mind. An informed customer base would help DisCos collect complaints and suggestions that would improve the Nigerian electricity sector.
More so, it would serve as an avenue for DisCos to inform customers about electricity services. An informed electricity customer makes the saying, ‘knowledge is power’ beneficial for everyone.
Check out the Hub’s YouTube page for our short videos for customer education.