Lekki residents groan as 2-week blackout sends fuel spending soaring

Residents of Lekki Phase 1 in Lagos say they have endured nearly two weeks without electricity after a transformer fault, forcing many households to rely on generators, spend heavily on petrol, and cope with spoiled food and disrupted businesses.

The residents disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, describing the prolonged outage as a major financial and emotional burden.

The blackout has affected Alhaji Hakeem Odumosu Street and other parts of the Lekki Phase 1 area, a high-density residential and commercial district on Lagos Island in Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos.

What they are saying

Residents said the prolonged outage has significantly increased their living costs, particularly for households and professionals who depend on electricity for work and food preservation.

One of the residents, Taiwo Bolodeoku, said the area had been left in darkness since a transformer exploded almost two weeks ago.

• “It has been almost two weeks now since a transformer blew up with a loud bang. The transformer services our home and quite a number of other houses in the area,” he said.

He accused the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) of failing to provide clear information about the repair timeline.

• “No information has been given, no apology has been sent out, and we wonder what is going on as we continue to wait endlessly,” Bolodeoku added.

Another resident, Margaret Sogbesan, said repeated promises by the electricity company had not translated into restored power supply.

• “We have spoken to everyone that needs to be spoken to; they have given updates and made promises to restore power, but here we are, still without a solution. So, it is really frustrating,” she said.

David Nezaya, who works remotely, said the blackout had made daily life increasingly difficult because he now depends on a generator for several hours every day.

• “I work from home, and it is so terrible that I have to power my generator for hours. It is very frustrating.
• “It is bad enough that the price of petrol is high, yet there is no electricity to cushion the effect of having to buy petrol almost daily just to survive,” he said.

An EKEDC official, Adeyemi Razaq, told NAN that the company was working to restore electricity supply during the coming week.

According to him, workers had requested the materials needed to repair the faulty transformer and the request had already been approved by the company’s head office.

He said the materials were yet to be released but expressed hope that they would arrive early in the week, allowing repairs to be completed before the end of the week

Get up to speed

The Lekki outage adds to a series of electricity disruptions affecting consumers within EKEDC’s network in recent months.

• In June, the company announced a loss of power supply from the national grid, describing it as a transmission-level incident outside its direct control that affected electricity supply across its coverage areas, including Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki, Apapa, Mushin, Festac, and other parts of Lagos.

Earlier in March, EKEDC also announced a scheduled three-day power outage in the Lekki District to carry out network upgrade works aimed at improving electricity supply in the area.

The repeated disruptions have reinforced concerns among residents and businesses about the reliability of electricity supply in Lagos, where millions of households and commercial establishments depend on stable power for economic activities.

EKEDC is one of Nigeria’s major electricity distribution companies and is estimated to receive roughly 11% to 15% of the power supplied from the national grid.

What you should know

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital with an estimated population of more than 20 million, has one of the country’s largest electricity demand profiles, making power reliability a major economic issue.

• To address the challenge, the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC) announced plans to begin the pilot rollout of 24/7 electricity franchise zones across the state by October 2026 as part of a broader strategy to improve electricity reliability through 2030.

The Lagos State Government has also signed power purchase agreements and concession arrangements with three independent power producers under its embedded power programme.

The agreements are expected to increase electricity generation capacity by between 200MW and 400MW over the next few years, with the aim of creating a more stable and self-sustaining electricity market in the state.