With no end to power outage, Maiduguri residents spend millions on solar

The electricity blackout in Maiduguri has been going on for over one year with many residents living their lives without a power supply.

Some privileged individuals, organizations and groups have embraced solar power as an alternative source of electricity in Maiduguri, a situation that has compelled them to spend millions of naira before installing the solar panels and other components including batteries and inverters, as well as other accessories.

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Findings from one of the major providers of solar energy in Maiduguri, Tamtam Solar System, revealed that one to three KVA solar installation costs between N350,000 and N1.4 million.

A senior civil servant, who recently installed the 3KVA solar, said the power outage and noise of the generator prompted him to install the solar power.

“I spent about N1.5m to install the solar panels and other components and for the past year, I have not experienced challenges of electricity in my house.

“Although installing solar electricity is expensive but the system has less challenges of maintenance and is adorable.” 

A dealer in grinding machines and its spare parts at the Monday market in Maiduguri, Alhaji Nasiru, who installed the solar power told Daily Trust that the solar system is cost-effective and more efficient than the generating set. 

“The power outage in Maiduguri last year forced us to seek for solar energy and I installed the 3KVA solar. Since then, I’ve not had any problem and I’ve also saved a lot of money from buying fuel. I used generator for more than two years and everyday I use between five to seven litres of fuel depending on the availability of electricity.” 

A staff of Tamtam Solar System told Daily Trust on Sunday that a lot of residents have been patronizing solar energy in Maiduguri. “We have been witnessing increased patronage from residents of Maiduguri who are installing the solar system. The number of people buying solar energy has increased following power outage for over a year and the patronage has continued despite the restoration of electricity in some parts of the city centre.

“We have introduced marketing strategies to encourage residents to install the solar energy because of the austere economic conditions. Part of the strategies is introduction of installmental payments for low-income earners for both traders and civil servants. We advised them to deposit money based on their capability and when the amount gets to 80 percent for civil servants and 70 percent for traders, the solar energy is installed in their houses and they pay the balance within two or three months after installation,” Hannatu said.

Another solar energy provider in Maiduguri, Grace Stanley, said the high cost of solar energy was responsible for low patronage.

Stanley, however, said there’s been increased patronage from small scale traders and businesses in Maiduguri. “With the hot weather, many people now come to buy the panels and other components, especially women who sell soft drinks, bottled water, as well as other locally made drinks because the Ramadan fast is around the corner and the demand for cold drinks is high.

“Recently, people have been depositing money in installment because they cannot afford to pay fully for the solar system. A lot of them have realized that it is safer and more profitable than generator, especially with the hike in fuel prices,” she said.

Stanley explained that they have brought in affordable solar systems that low-income earners can afford. It comes in a minimum of 80 watts to 250 watts, has a battery of 100Amps and an inverter that can light up their homes and equally recharge their phones.

“Some of the new solar energy system for low-income earners cost between N30,000 and N60,000, and can serve different purposes.”

Meanwhile, investigation indicates that majority of small-scale business owners who use generators as alternative source of electricity are groaning as a result of fuel scarcity and price hike. They say they cannot break even as the situation has aggravated their economic hardship. 

Fuel remains a major source of power supply in Maiduguri due to the prolonged power outage as a result of destruction of facilities and major power lines into the city by Boko Haram insurgents. 

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the situation has sparked increase in transportation fares and the cost of goods and services, including commercial charging of phone which was increase from N30 to N50. 

The scarcity had initially affected school children, especially from poor background, who could not go to school because of rise in transport fares. The situation also compelled many low-income earners to trek to their places of work and market.

Although power has been restored in some parts of Maiduguri, but the DisCo in charge of electricity in the city—Yola Electric Distribution Company (YEDC) is still working hard to restore electricity in other parts of the city because hoodlums vandalized some facilities and transformers, while some were removed by the DisCo to safeguard them from the vandals.

An owner of a business centre at the post office in Maiduguri, Hashimu Adamu, said the reason why they were not able to install solar energy is the cost of the system. 

“We use generator as alternative source of electricity but the hike of fuel prices as a result of its scarcity has plunged us into untold hardship. We have been running our business with generator for more than 12 months of power outage in Maiduguri. We cannot survive without increasing our charges and it is scaring away our customers. The market has generally gone down and life has become unbearable. We urge our leaders at all levels to do something about the hardships we are going through.”

A trader in Maiduguri Inuwa Maina told Daily Trust that the prolonged power outage has made life very difficult because they have no alternative source of electricity.

“Even if you have the means to get a small generator (I pass my neighbour) one litre of fuel cannot do anything for you. You’re battling with getting two meals a day, how do you think of electricity? The situation has caused rapid inflation because prices of commodities and transport fares have skyrocketed. We are appealing to relevant authorities to come to our aid and restore electricity in Maiduguri to save the situation from worsening.”

A resident of Baga Road in Maiduguri where the electricity was not restored, Ibrahim Mohammed, told Daily Trust that the issue of restoration of electricity in their area is a mirage. 

“We don’t have alternative means of electricity like generator or solar energy. Prices of food stuff and essential commodities continue to rise by the day; even the price of charcoal that we use to cook food has skyrocketed. We will continue to pray for the leaders to be touched by our condition and restore the electricity in Maiduguri so as to alleviate our sufferings.”

All efforts made to get the reaction of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company was not successful at the time of filing this report.