December 25, 2025
Residents and business owners in Enugu State have decried prolonged power outages that have persisted for nearly two months, worsening during the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Speaking in separate interviews in Enugu, affected residents expressed frustration over the timing of the outages, noting that electricity supply has remained unstable at a period traditionally marked by increased economic and social activities.
A restaurant operator, Mr Anthony Chibuzo, said the lack of stable power supply had significantly increased operating costs, forcing him to rely heavily on diesel.
“I spend close to ₦50,000 daily on diesel to keep my business running. With refrigeration, air conditioning and lighting dependent on generators, profits are almost wiped out this Christmas,” he said.
A hotelier, who declined to be named, described the situation as chaotic, noting that guests frequently complained about the unreliable electricity.
“Power rarely stays for up to one hour. It comes and goes every one or two hours. It’s embarrassing and affects our reputation,” he said.
Similarly, a barber in Ogui New Layout, Mr Solomon Chinedu, said he was compelled to double service charges to cope with rising fuel expenses.
“I increased haircuts from ₦500 to ₦1,000 just to cover fuel costs. Customers complain, but I have no choice,” he said.
For households, the outages have also disrupted festive preparations. Mrs Adaobi Onyekwelu, a mother of four, said she feared losing food items stocked for Christmas due to lack of refrigeration.
“I expected improvement after the state took over electricity supply. What changed?” she queried.
Another resident, Mrs Blessing Ani, said she might not cook for Christmas because there was no reliable way to preserve food.
“They bring light for a few minutes and it goes off. One neighbour had to take Christmas meat to a cold room,” she lamented.
Reacting to the situation, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) attributed the decline in supply to nationwide gas constraints affecting power generation.
In a statement by its Group Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh, the company explained that inadequate gas supply to generation companies led to low system frequency, forcing the Transmission Company of Nigeria to implement load shedding.
According to EEDC, this development reduced the volume of electricity allocated to its network, directly impacting supply to customers served by MainPower, TransPower, FirstPower, NewEra and EastLand.
The company appealed for patience, assuring customers that efforts were ongoing to stabilise power supply across the region.
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