South-East Nigeria bleeding billions over power shortages, SEECA urges governors to act

THE deepening power crisis in Nigeria is taking a heavy toll on the South-East, with the South East Electricity Consumers Association (SEECA) warning that the region is haemorrhaging billions of naira due to persistent outages.

The consumer advocacy group said the situation has become unbearable for households and businesses, estimating that more than N28 billion was lost within a three-month period as a result of erratic supply. It stressed that the economic cost of darkness is rising daily, particularly in a zone known for its strong entrepreneurial base.

Speaking in Enugu over the weekend, SEECA’s Coordinator, Dr. Sebastine Chukwuebuka Okafor, said the South-East cannot achieve its much-desired industrial transformation without deliberate investment in power generation. According to him, electricity remains the foundation of any modern economy, and without it, development efforts will continue to stall.

Dr Okafor noted that the region has been hit hard in recent months by recurring generation problems on the national grid, leading to prolonged blackouts. The shortages, he said, have inflicted severe hardship on consumers and undermined commercial activities, especially during the yuletide season when businesses traditionally record peak sales.

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He explained that while distribution companies operating in the area often receive public criticism, they should not shoulder the blame alone. The electricity value chain, he argued, involves multiple segments, and distributors cannot supply power they do not receive from the grid.

The SEECA coordinator further revealed that the South-East receives only about 7 percent of the total electricity generated nationwide, placing it at a structural disadvantage compared to other regions. Spreading such limited supply across millions of consumers, he said, inevitably results in rationing and widespread dissatisfaction.

According to him, unstable electricity has forced many small and medium-scale enterprises to shut their doors. Numerous operators, he said, can no longer cope with the rising cost of diesel and generators, leading to job losses and shrinking household incomes. He lamented that residents are effectively “paying for darkness” through lost savings and declining productivity.

Okafor argued that stable power would do more to reduce poverty in the region than many policy pronouncements. If factories can operate consistently and artisans have reliable energy, he said, employment opportunities would expand and economic confidence would return.

Criticisms of South-East governors

He also questioned the approach of South-East governors, accusing them of placing disproportionate emphasis on electricity distribution rather than boosting generation capacity within the zone. Concentrating on distribution without increasing supply, he maintained, merely spreads scarcity more evenly without solving the root problem.

The don described such a strategy as counterproductive, saying it deepens public frustration and slows economic progress. In his view, real reform must begin with expanding generation so that there is sufficient electricity to transmit and distribute.

Okafor insisted that the South-East is not lacking in potential. He pointed to the region’s skilled manpower, available gas resources, and a pool of private investors willing to collaborate on power projects if provided with the right policy support and political will.

He urged state governments to consider developing independent power plants to reduce overreliance on the national grid. By generating electricity locally, he said, the region would be better positioned to stabilise supply, revive industries, and chart a path toward economic self-reliance.

For SEECA, the message is clear: without urgent and strategic investment in electricity generation, the South-East will continue to lose billions, while its ambition for rapid industrial growth remains out of reach.

READ ALSO: For shutting down economy 4 times in January 2024, South-East Nigeria loses N355bn

Partial collapse

Nigeria is beset by an acute power problems, which are hurting industries and homes. The South-East region is experiencing power cuts, leaving homes and businesses across the South-East without power, disrupting supply to all customers served by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

In a statement signed by its Group Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh, EEDC said all its subsidiary distribution companies, such as MainPower, TransPower, FirstPower, NewEra and EastLand, were affected. These firms supply electricity across the five South-East states of Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra and Imo.

“The cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained, but we are on standby, awaiting restoration of supply,” he said, apologising to customers for the disruption.