The Industrial City Of Nnewi, in Nnewi North Local Government of Anambra State has decried months of power outage, which has crippled socioeconomic, commercial activities in the area.
The power outage, which began on April 2nd, 2024 following a period of low current starting in late March, was initially anticipated to be addressed within a few days but has since turned into a prolonged and significant problem, lingering for over two months.
According to Mr Chukwudi Ulasi, The Transition Committee Chairman of Agboego United Market, said the power outage began almost immediately, disrupting his plans within the market.
“This situation has affected everything, and the residents are struggling with basic needs like water and charging of electronic devices”.
Mr Ulasi further recalled, “The situation is worsened by the recent increase in fuel prices. We use generator’s in pump water and using generators have raised the prices for a small bathing bucket and 50 naira for 25 liters of water.
“Since some compounds lack a generator for pumping water, all residents have to fetch water from other sources. Despite a group of residents visiting the EEDC office in mass, they returned with empty promises, and the power outage remains unresolved till date.”
Mr Emeka Okeke, who runs a laundry business in one of the affected areas said, “The problem of the power outage has affected my laundry service greatly because I had to use fuel daily for two months now without power support. Not all customers understand the sudden hike in my charges. Some will prefer to go to where there’s constant light to do their laundry.”
Another resident who gave his name as Kenechukwu Awugosi recounted, “Charging phones has become a tedious and risky task. I was nearly robbed of my phone while returning from a charging station one Sunday evening, caused by the dangers associated with the power outage.”
Mr Oliver Udechukwu, who runs a barbing salon, also commented on the situation. “My business is badly affected as most customers didn’t find the high price of barbing now favorable, but we thank God anyway.”
It was gathered from some residents that on May 21st, 2024, a group of old tenants and local residents went door-to-door, collecting 1,000 naira from each household to fix the streetlights, despite the ongoing power outage.
They questioned when it became the tenants’ responsibility to provide street lighting, while suspecting that some people may be cashing in on the current challenge.
Interestingly, other streets in the area have been enjoying power supply.
As at the time of this report, residents were uncertain about the time the challenge would be over. “This is the current state of affairs for us living here, and it is not favorable at all. The prolonged power outage is causing significant hardship and disrupting daily life for all residents.
“Honestly, we are disenchanted. We have no hope when the supply will be restored,” one of the unhappy residents lamented.
Energy Outage Cripples Business, Economic Activities In Nnewi Industrial City
