The inconsistent Power Supply in Iree, Osun State, has angered the locals, who have urged the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to either fix the problem or cut off their power completely. Over the course of more than a year, the residents of Iree have had to contend with erratic electricity and excessive projected bills. There are concerns about unfair billing practices because many residents have applied for prepaid meters but have not yet received them.
Small business owners in particular have suffered greatly; some have been forced to close because they cannot afford the gasoline for their generators. People from the community, including Prince Ali Afolabi and Muyiwa Aina, have accused IBEDC of exploiting them and called for prompt government action. IBEDC responded by acknowledging the supply problems, stating that they were technical in nature, and asking citizens to be patient while also promoting timely payment for electricity use. Over the years, Iree has had ongoing problems with electricity.
IBEDC has promised to take careful measures to resolve these problems.
Concerns regarding the unpredictable power supply and the financial burden of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company’s (IBEDC) anticipated billing have been raised by locals on numerous occasions. Despite repeated requests, community leader Prince Ali Afolabi pointed out in February 2025 that the town frequently receives less than an hour of electricity every day, which has a significant negative influence on daily life and local businesses. IBEDC has promised to take careful measures to resolve these problems, attributing them to supply and technological difficulties. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) held a town hall meeting and a three-day customer complaints resolution forum in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, in October 2024 in response to these persistent problems.
This program was designed to give locals a forum to air their complaints and ask IBEDC’s customer service representatives for prompt resolutions. In order to improve service delivery and guarantee that customer concerns are promptly resolved, NERC underlined the need of such engagements. It is difficult to find precise statistics on how frequently outages occur in Iree or what proportion of the population does not have prepaid meters. But according to anecdotal reports, many people only get two hours of electricity every day, and a sizable portion of them are still waiting for prepaid meters to be installed despite having applied before.
Numerous potential solutions have been put forth to overcome these issues.
Due to the high expense of generator fuel, a number of small firms have had to close as a result of this unreliable power. Numerous potential solutions have been put forth to overcome these issues. To improve capacity and dependability, the government may step in and spend more in the Infrastructure of the national grid. Furthermore, encouraging Renewable Energy sources like solar power might give communities like Iree access to sustainable and decentralised electricity options. To guarantee that customers are billed appropriately for their actual consumption, it would also be beneficial to expedite the distribution of prepaid meters and implement transparent billing systems.
These power outages have a significant impact on people. For instance, a local tailor in Iree bemoaned the fact that her daily output has been significantly decreased due to the unreliable power supply, resulting in a substantial loss of revenue. The excessive expense of operating a generator also forced the closure of a small business owner who depended on energy to operate his operations, underscoring the critical need for a dependable power source to support local businesses and livelihoods.
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Underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, and frequent grid failures are some of the major issues facing Nigeria’s power sector. Even though the nation has enormous Natural Gas reserves and a population of over 200 million, it only produces a small portion of its potential, which causes a heavy reliance on private producers. Financial Volatility and a lack of qualified workers in the green energy industry have hampered efforts to switch to renewable energy. Significant funding, legislative changes, and an emphasis on building local knowledge to promote Sustainable Energy alternatives are all necessary to address these problems.