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By Kehinde Aderemi
When the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA ) was created in 1972, Nigerians were told that electricity would soon be as abundant as the air that is breathed free of charge.
But the first national blackout in 1974, shattered that optimism, and the entire nation was plunged into darkness for days, exposing the fragile grid that NEPA had inherited.
The failure of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the body that succeeded NEPA in 2005, to generate uninterrupted power supply was not accidental. It was as a result of many years of poor management that made it impossible for Nigerians to enjoy power to the fullest.
For ordinary households, regular power supply became a luxury. There were times when businesses suffered even more; factories halted production, shops lost inventory, and the cost of running diesel generators ate into slim profit margins.
But today, the story is changing as Nigerians are embracing solar power as a better and cheaper alternative to public electricity.
Many households are now shifting from the national grid to solar energy. The era of the usual streets shouts of UP NEPA whenever the lights flickered back to life is gradually going..
The soaring demand for solar, the reporter learnt, has become a necessity resulting from continuous collapse of the national grid and the persistent and prolonged power outages.
“Gone are the days when the entire country would be thrown into total darkness. Even when the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) became Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), there were little or no changes”, a Lagos- based businessman, Mr Sunday Usulor, said as he spoke about the new trend.
According to him, the reason for the shift from public power supply to solar energy was not far-fetched. He said continuous power outage across the country was the cause of the shift. He noted also that power is no longer reliable.
Usulor, who is also an aluminium fabricator, narrated his experiences in the last seven months, even as he lamented also that his community in Adamo, Ikorodu, had been denied supply of electricity since May.
“The era of using solar energy to power households didn’t start today. It started gradually and people are shifting according to their means. Solar power is the only alternative we have now and Nigerians are embracing it.
“For instance, in Adamo, Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area of Lagos, the community had been in the dark for the past seven months and many have lost hope as so many businesses have been affected.
I prefer to use solar, especially now that our community has been in the dark for a long time now. Solar energy has really helped me and many others. We no longer buy fuel to put on the generator, except on rare occasions.
Solar saves money and it reduces the noise pollution that come from generator. One good thing about solar is that it is affordable, depending on the type you want for your household. The money could be paid in instalments. “Even we have many companies that produce solar systems now and they are making a lot of money because it guarantees stable power supply and it can be used to power any home appliances. The market is moving and people go for it because it is the only alternative we have now,” he said.
A businessman and farmer, Alhaji Hammed Otufowora, said the shift from power to solar has been a welcome development.
He explained that the days when Nigerians depended so much on public power supply is gone for good.
The Ogun State-born farmer stated that Nigerians have endured what he described, as a dark era, where many would live without light for months or years and nothing could be done until power is restored.
“The shift from public power to solar created another opportunity for people to enjoy life better than what it was in the past.
“With solar, businesses are getting back to life, and Nigerians no longer depend solely on public power to light up their households. Solar power can power on even a pumping machine for people to get water without public power.
“The use of generators is gradually reducing and nobody is paying for fuel. It is a better shift and I can say it confidently that in the next five years, Nigerians will be using solar to power almost everything.
“For instance, we can see the power of solar on our major roads now. In some part of Lagos State, drivers drive with ease in the night.
“Now that the prices of generators are high up, people are gradually shifting to solar, with no noise.
“Many companies are doing their best with soft instalment facilities to help people restore light in their households,” Alhaji Otufowora said.
A realtor and a staff of a facility management company, Mr Daniel Alfred, said the evolution of solar in Nigeria is a radical departure from the old order.
He added that the use of solar has been one of the emerging trends now in Nigeria.
Hear him: “The use of solar as an alternative to public power is a good innovation that has continued to help us in many ways. The only challenge people have is the cost of installation and that depends on the capacity of the solar you will like to install.
“But after the installation, you will enjoy it so much, because it is a shift from not having constant power supply from the discos to now having constant supply with solar providing the power in our homes, in companies and in institutions. Another good thing about solar is that users have full control of their electricity use.
You can put it on anytime you do desire. You generate light at your wish and you are not paying any recharged bill as it is in the prepaid meters. It erases the cost of buying fuel and running generators and the noise and smoke. The most beautiful thing about solar is that it is noiseless.”
As Mr. Alfred feels concerned about the affordability of solar in Nigeria’s households, he pointed out that efforts should be made to make it more affordable to people.
“It should be affordable that individual Nigerians can equally afford it. As it is now, not everybody can still afford it, but if they can make it affordable, I believe more people would embrace it and it will save many people from spending more money on buying fuel and running generators,” he stated.
As Nigerians turn to solar panels and home batteries, the legacy of NEPA and PHCN lives on in the collective memory of a nation that learned to survive without reliable power supply..
And sadly, the story of their failures is not just a chronicle of broken wires, but a testament to the resilience of a people who, despite the darkness, keep the lights of hope burning.
