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ITEL Energy has promised to resolve reported faults with its solar energy products within 48 hours, offering repair or replacement services as part of its after-sales support for customers across Nigeria. The company said its service arrangements include remote technical assistance, home visits by engineers and product replacement where necessary, while stressing the importance of proper installation and maintenance in preventing equipment faults.
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sunfi, A key distributor, Rotimi Thomas made this commitment at the ongoing Nigeria Energy Week event in Lagos, where the company showcased its energy products and explained its after-sales procedures to distributors, existing customers and prospective buyers.
Thomas said reliable after-sales support was important to distributors because customers depended on them not only for equipment but also for repairs and replacements when problems arose. “The 48-hour resolution commitment from ITEL is very important for us as a distribution platform because when a consumer buys a product through Sunfi, they’re actually really buying a trusted service,” he said. He said the ability to repair or replace faulty equipment quickly helped distributors maintain customer confidence, particularly among households and businesses switching from petrol and diesel generators to solar energy. Thomas also urged consumers to look beyond the duration of a product warranty and examine the manufacturer’s response to complaints, the terms governing repairs and replacements, and the support available during the warranty period.
According to him, high interest rates and rising prices have made it difficult for some households and businesses to pay the full cost of solar and energy-storage systems upfront. He said Sunfi offered payment plans that allowed customers to make an initial payment and spread the balance over periods ranging from three to 24 months or longer.
Thomas estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of customers still sought payment plans, adding that flexible financing was important to expanding access to clean-energy solutions.
The company’s Country Technical Support Manager, Emmanuel Kumuyi, said customers commonly reported problems involving overloading, protection systems and installation errors. He also identified incorrect matching of solar panel capacity with inverter and battery specifications as a cause of equipment problems.
Kumuyi advised customers to use certified engineers and ensure that their systems were properly configured before installation. “The ways to avoid this is to ensure that you get number one, a good brand, number two, to get the right configuration for your installation and at the same time, what is important is to get a brand that has the right after-sales service support that can guide you even before you carry out this installation,” he said.
He explained that when a customer reports a fault, call-centre agents document the complaint and transfer it to an online engineer for assessment. Where the problem cannot be resolved remotely, a field engineer is assigned to visit the customer and determine whether repairs or replacement are required. Kumuyi added that resolution depended on the warranty applicable to the product.
The company’s National Distributor Manager, Lucky Ovenseri, said ITEL Energy had distribution coverage across all 36 states, with showrooms in major cities including Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. He said the company also operated dedicated energy after-sales centres.
According to Ovenseri, the company operates a replacement policy under which customers can receive another unit while their faulty equipment is being worked on.
At the exhibition, the company also showcased its PowerTank 1000 and IP54 11kW Hybrid Inverter for residential and commercial applications. It also showcased it’s IP54 11kW Hybrid Inverter which attracted enquiries from customers seeking systems capable of supporting larger household appliances and higher-demand business equipment.
