DisCO vows 24-hour electricity supply after customers suspend planned protest

FirstPower’s aggrieved customers recently suspended a planned protest over poor supply and over-billing.

The FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (FPED) has said it has concluded arrangements to begin 24-hour electricity supply to parts of Anambra State.

The company said that this was part of measures to improve power supply in the state.

The Chief Technical Officer of FPED, Emeka Egbujor, disclosed this during the company’s annual customer engagement meeting on Thursday in Awka.

“As we speak now, we have concluded arrangements to supply Udoka Estate and Ngozika Estate in Awka with 10 megawatts of electricity for 24 hours.

“Another area is Nnewi, where we have discussed with Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd, Cutis Cable Company, Tommy Noddles and Chikason Plastics to supply them with 24-hour electricity,” he said.

Mr Egbujor said that the project, which would be carried out through the Compressed Natural Gas plant, would be completed within six to eight months from March this year.

He said that the balance of power supply after the project would be enough for electricity consumers in the state.

Similarly, the Managing Director, FPED, Okechukwu Okafor, assured the electricity consumers that the company was doing everything possible to improve electricity supply for its customers in the state.

“We want to change the narrative, we want to change the system for good. I want to assure the people of Anambra that the future is bright in power supply. This is because Anambra is the economic hub of South-east, Nigeria and West Africa,” he said.

Mr Okafor noted that the shortage of gas supply to power plants and underfunding of the electricity value chain were responsible for the recent drop in power supply.

“Recently, the energy we received in Anambra dropped to about 45 per cent from what we used to get.

“In January 2026, there was a slight improvement in generation, but it went down again.

“Right now the federal government and the stakeholders in the electricity sector are discussing to find solution to the challenges in the sector,” he said.

He encouraged electricity consumers to apply for prepaid metres to enable the company to better serve them.

According to him, it takes only three weeks to get prepaid meters after application.

Mr Okafor urged customers to report any corrupt company staff member to his office or to any other management staff.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that electricity consumers complained about non-supply and epileptic power supply to some parts of Anambra.

Others complained about estimated billing, which often resulted in overbilling.

Some community leaders also complained about some staff of the company who conspired with some members of their community to extort residents.

Earlier, the Head of Customer Service, FPED, Obianuju Okafor, said the meeting was a forum to gather customer feedback to better serve them.

FirstPower’s aggrieved customers recently suspended a planned protest over poor supply and over-billing.

(NAN)