Nigerians Embrace Inverter, Solar Energy Amid Power Grid Collapse, Dismal Electricity Supply

Nigerians were plunged into darkness once again on Monday as the national electricity grid collapsed for the second time this year.

Affected states include Lagos, Kaduna, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra and a number of other states.

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the development to customers in a text message, saying that the system collapse occurred on the national grid at 10:40 am.

“Dear esteemed customer, a system collapse occurred on the national grid at 10:40 am today, leading to outages across our network.

“We are working on the situation with our TCN partners and will keep you updated. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused,” the text read.

Due to the national grid collapse, power supply has been extremely poor and the steadily rising prices of diesel have proven to be a huge problem for people across the country.

Reacting to the news as well as the recent poor electricity supply across the nation, Nigerians on Twitter welcomed inverters and solar power as alternatives to the electricity supply from the national grid. Below are some of the reactions:

@maclamin tweeted, “Installing an inverter is the wisest thing to do right now, it saves a lot of cost. Mine is 4 years old, no issues, the solar panels charge the inverter pretty good. Imagine half of Lagos and Abuja people ditch NEPA for inverters, ‘NEPA’ will have sense by force”.

@DrJoeAbah tweeted, “I have finally installed an inverter. Can’t deal with diesel anymore. I wonder why I didn’t do it earlier.”

@iamejike tweeted, “Solar Hybrid Inverters are the way to go, na you go beg NEPA make dem come disconnect their wire.”

@buchionyegbule tweeted, “Inverters really are no-brainers if you can afford it. Even with the huge initial outlay, it makes so much sense economically, and the ease and convenience is just so relieving. Once you install it, you ask yourself why you never did before.”

@labodday tweeted, “Some of us had to resort to installing inverters more than 4 years ago upon finding out that NEPA (forget Disco) is an incorrigible outfit broken down to splinters of demons.”

While most people spoke positively about inverters and solar panels as viable alternatives to relying on the power grid, a few pointed out how expensive they are to obtain.

@Nwakwuo_MI6 said, “…millions out there are still dependent on the National Grid and Gasoline powered generator. Solar Inverters are capital intensive and beyond the reach of an average Nigerian. Why can’t the government subsidize Alternative Energy products, or zero import tax on them?”

In a recent interview with THE WHISTLER, the Chief Executive Officer of solar energy provider, InfraNergy, Dr. Uche Isiugo, said discerning businesses and power consumers in Nigeria are now increasingly opting for solar, owing to the unreliable national grid and rising costs in the electricity value chain, driven primarily by gas and diesel prices.