Nigerian electricity customers classified under the premium “Band A” category are raising alarms over what they describe as systemic fraud, alleging they pay triple tariffs for power supplies that fall far short of the promised 20-hour daily minimum. Energy analyst Ikechukwu Amaechi, who resides and operates a business in Lagos’s Band A zones, reported receiving less than 10 hours of electricity daily despite tariffs spiking from ₦62 to ₦206 per kWh.
How the Banding System Works
Nigeria’s Service-Based Tariff (SBT) divides consumers into five bands (A-E) based on daily power supply hours:
Band A: 20+ hours (₦206–₦225/kWh)
Band B: 16–20 hours (₦63/kWh)
Band C: 12–16 hours (₦50/kWh)
Band D: 8–12 hours (₦43/kWh)
Band E: 4–8 hours (₦40/kWh)
“This Band A system is a fraud,” Amaechi reiterated. “We’re paying more for darkness.”
Customers can verify their band via DisCo portals like Ikeja Electric’s website by entering their meter number. However, many allege their assigned bands don’t match reality.
Social media and consumer reports reveal widespread outages in Band A areas, with some customers experiencing under 10 hours daily, half the mandated minimum. A Band A resident in Abuja stated: “They said we’d be prioritized, but since the tariff hike, supply has worsened.”
NERC’s enforcement mechanism requires DisCos to adjust tariffs downward if a feeder fails to meet its band’s hourly threshold for 60 days. However, customers claim this rarely occurs in practice.
NERC fined Abuja DisCo (AEDC) ₦200 million in 2024 for overcharging downgraded Band A customers but has yet to address systemic classification inaccuracies. Analysts like Abubakar Umar warn the tariff hike could “create initial chaos” before pressuring DisCos to improve infrastructure.
Consumer groups demand an independent audit of feeder classifications and stricter penalties for non-compliant DisCos. With Band A customers funding 40% of grid supply for just 15% of users, transparency in billing and service delivery remains critical to restoring public trust.
