Residents of Alamo community in the Magboro area of Ogun State have expressed frustration over a prolonged power outage that has left them without electricity for about two months.
The blackout has disrupted business activities, made food preservation difficult and worsened the discomfort caused by the hot weather.
Residents said the electricity supply was interrupted in August after the community’s transformer developed a fault.
They explained that members of the community contributed money to repair the transformer, but officials of the electricity distribution company had yet to complete its installation and restore power.
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A businesswoman identified as Glory described the situation as disappointing, noting that residents had remained without electricity despite contributing towards the repair.
She also disclosed that electricity supply had been unreliable in the area even before the transformer broke down.
According to her, power was sometimes supplied once every two or three days and lasted for approximately six hours. She added that electricity often came around midnight and disappeared before daybreak.
She said residents usually rushed to carry out household activities whenever power was restored because they were uncertain how long it would last.
Another resident, Chineye Jacinta, who moved into the community in October 2025, said the last period of relatively steady electricity supply was around August 27.
She recalled that electricity briefly returned recently but lasted only two hours before the community was plunged into darkness again.
Jacinta explained that the prolonged outage had made the heat difficult to endure, while the rising cost of running generators had increased residents’ financial burden.
She said many households could no longer enjoy cold drinking water, preserve food in refrigerators or pump water without depending on neighbours who owned generators.
The blackout has equally affected small businesses, especially shops that depend on electricity to keep drinks and other perishable products refrigerated.
Residents now have to travel longer distances to buy certain items from larger shops that can afford to operate generators for extended periods.
Glory also lamented that her generator could not adequately power her refrigerator, forcing her to prepare meals almost every day because she could no longer store food properly.
Jacinta said she had resorted to using portable solar-powered fans at night to cope with the heat, although the devices sometimes ran out of power before morning.
Meanwhile, residents have questioned the continued issuance of electricity bills despite the prolonged interruption in supply.
A small business owner, Osayande Katherine, said she continued to pay her bills whenever they were presented, despite the difficulties.
Jacinta, however, faulted the estimated billing system, arguing that residents were charged even during periods when electricity was unavailable for several weeks.
She called on the distribution company to review its billing arrangement, insisting that the estimated charges did not reflect the electricity consumed by residents.
When contacted, the spokesperson for Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Angela Olarewaju, directed enquiries to another official, Daniel Adugbo.
Adugbo said the complaint would be forwarded to the company’s technical team for further clarification.
However, the company had yet to provide additional information on the prolonged blackout as of the time the report was filed.
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