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From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Residents of parts of Tumfure community in Gombe State have petitioned the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) over what they describe as gross negligence and regulatory violations by the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), following nearly a month of power outage caused by a faulty transformer.
In a petition dated August 4, 2025, and signed by Abdulkadir Aliyu Shehu, the community accused JEDC of failing to repair or replace the “Almajiri transformer,” which serves over 100 households and several small businesses.
They lamented that appeals and visits to JEDC offices in Gombe, as well as calls to officials in Jos, have yielded no results. The blackout, they said, has crippled commercial activities, disrupted students’ studies, and left homes in darkness despite the area being classified under Band A which should guarantee at least 20 hours of daily supply under NERC’s Service-Based Tariff.
“This is not just a technical fault, it is an institutional failure,” the petition read, adding that prepaid customers were still being billed despite having no electricity.
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The residents cited NERC regulations, including the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (2005), which place full responsibility for infrastructure maintenance on Distribution Companies. They rejected any attempt to make them fund the transformer replacement, calling it an illegal cost-shifting practice.
As of the time of filing this report, the Head of Corporate Communication at JEDC could not be reached for comment. However, an official, speaking anonymously, said the Band A and transformer issue is a top priority and believed the company was already working on fixing the transformer, stressing, “Even without a petition, they will fix it”.
Meanwhile, the community is demanding urgent regulatory intervention from NERC, threatening to pursue legal action and escalate the matter to the National Assembly and consumer rights bodies if the issue remains unresolved.
