Christmas is barely 24 hours away and energy costs are still high. This could make it very difficult for many Nigerians to enjoy the holidays.
As you know, the Christmas season comes with a lot of spending on food, gifts, transportation and more. At a time many Nigerians are faced with an inflation rate as high as 21.47%, it is not surprising that everything is so expensive.
Note that energy is very integral to everything people do this season – from transportation to lighting our homes. Therefore, if it is so expensive, the implication is that the costs will bite deep into people’s pockets/bank accounts.
High energy costs affect prices: The most essential energy-related purchases this season are fuel and electricity tokens. These purchases apply to households and businesses.
In a chat with Nairametrics, the founder of Paintways Allied & Chemicals, Abolade Lekan, said the high energy costs this Christmas period will have a devastating impact on the prices of goods and services.
According to him, his paint manufacturing company spends a lot on premium motor spirit (PMS) for power generation. And usually, the company tries to recoup this cost by hiking the prices of its finished products. Specifically, the company increases prices by 2.5% to reflect/accommodate high energy costs.
Impact of energy costs on travellers: Many Nigerians will be travelling for the Christmas holidays by road or by air. With the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, it is not surprising that transportation fares (road, air and train) are astronomically high.
A recent survey carried out by Nairametrics revealed that airfare costs for a single adult currently range between N150,000 to N175,000 for a return trip. Meanwhile, interstate road travel is as high as N27,000 per person, depending on the location and type of vehicle.
Energy costs will affect savings: Prepaid meter users who will be spending a lot of time at home during the holidays will need to purchase power units to keep the lights on. Unfortunately, electricity costs have equally gone up.
As of December 16, the utility payment platform, Buypower.ng, was offering 70 units for N4000 power purchase for prepaid meters.
- Households on Band A tariff (which offers over 20 hours of power supply in a day) will require more than N4000 power units between December 24 and the first week of January 2023. This is especially so if such households make use of vampire appliances like air conditioners, microwaves, chargers, television sets, decoders, and music systems and inverters.
- This also depends on the number of people in the household.
Managing power supply costs: The ability to manage power supply costs during the yuletide will depend on whether a household or business is on a prepaid or postpaid billing system.
- To put this into perspective, it is important to note that Nigerians who are on prepaid billing through prepaid meters can effectively manage their energy costs as far as power unit purchases are concerned. They can decide to minimize their use of vampire appliances or opt for energy-efficient appliances that will not consume a lot of energy.
- However, Nigerians who are on postpaid estimated billing may not be able to manage their energy costs when it comes to power supply because most of the time, they pay a constant sum at the end of the month to their distribution company (DisCo).
Nigerians who are on a prepaid billing system can use the following information as a context to understand their potential costs based on energy consumption.
How to enjoy Christmas amid high energy costs: The best way for Nigerians to enjoy the Christmas holidays despite rising energy costs is to stay energy efficient. According to Lotanna Eze, an energy efficiency expert, it will be wise for every household to manage their energy consumption to pay less utility bills during the Christmas period. He said:
- “Since households will probably have more people as Nigerians travel home for the holidays, it is important for everyone to endeavour to switch off appliances that are not in use. Turn off your freezer when the food inside is frozen, turn off the TV and decoders when not in use, turn off your lights during the day, turn off the air conditioners when the weather is cool, and do not use air conditioners all through the night. People must also buy energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lights for use at home and in offices. These action steps will reduce energy costs.
- “For those who may want to run generators during the Christmas holidays, it is important to run them only, when necessary, because of the cost of PMS and diesel as well as the noise and carbon pollution associated with PMS and diesel generators. If there is no emergent need for a generator-fired power supply, there is no need to put it on your generator. As an alternative, you can get.”
Further recommendations for you: If you are travelling during this Christmas period, you should take the cheaper option. Consider your earning capacity or savings. If you cannot afford a plane ticket, opt for interstate travel. Also, pick a road travel option that is cheaper. For instance, a Nairametrics survey done on December 16 revealed that using a vehicle that is not air-conditioned will be cheaper than an air-conditioned vehicle.
