Band A, Darkness: Across Oyo, Kwara, Osun, Ogun States, IBEDC Customers Demand Answers As Power Promises Collapse

Reloaded News Desk

Across communities served by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, a growing dispute over electricity supply is moving beyond ordinary complaints about blackouts.

Customers in parts of Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Kwara are questioning how they can continue paying tariffs tied to higher service levels when actual electricity supply sometimes falls substantially below the hours attached to their classification.

Under Nigeria’s Service-Based Tariff framework, Band A customers are expected to receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily. NERC says where a DisCo fails to meet the approved minimum, its performance is to be evaluated over a 60-day period and, after verification, the applicable rates for customers in the affected cluster are to be adjusted to reflect the quality of service delivered.

But complaints from IBEDC’s franchise area suggest that the dispute is not going away.

Oyo: Band A expansion meets an unstable network

In September, IBEDC apologised to Band A customers across Oyo, Ogun and Kwara after several feeders failed to meet their mandated daily supply hours.

The company disclosed that some feeders recorded zero hours of electricity during the affected period. It attributed the failures to a combination of TCN forced outages, load shedding, IBEDC faults, overcurrent and earth faults, as well as some disconnections for non-payment.

The problem is not limited to one day.

In Ibadan, residents of Soka, Elebu and adjoining communities endured weeks of prolonged outages before IBEDC restored supply after replacing a faulty 15MVA transformer.

Residents told PUNCH that the disruption had affected businesses, water supply and education. One resident said electricity could disappear for weeks or months and return for only about 30 minutes, while a business owner said generator fuel was consuming a large part of his profits.

IBEDC itself acknowledged earlier in the year that increasing demand, the addition of more Band A feeders and unstable energy allocation from the national grid had created a gap between available electricity and customer demand. The company also cited gas shortages affecting generation.

Osun: From protests to a new Band A dispute

Osun has perhaps provided the clearest picture of the growing frustration.

In March, residents from several Osogbo communities marched to the IBEDC regional office over poor electricity supply.

The communities included Owo-Eba, Garage-Ilesa, Tara, Oke-Baale, the OSBC and UNIOSUN areas, Air Force Base, Army Depot, Boredun, Coker, Odu and Omu.

Residents said their areas had been moved from Bands A and B to Band C but were still receiving only about four hours of electricity daily, below even the minimum applicable to Band C. They demanded restoration of their previous classification.

The protests were serious enough to attract security deployment around the IBEDC office.

Then came another problem.

In September, residents in parts of Osun began complaining about what they described as the opposite situation: communities being moved into Band A while allegedly receiving substantially less than the 20 hours associated with the classification.

An Osun lawmaker representing Ejigbo State Constituency, Olujinmi Asagade, subsequently petitioned IBEDC over complaints from residents of Ilesha, Ikirun, Ilobu, Ileogbo, Ejigbo and surrounding areas.

He alleged that feeders had been moved from Band B to Band A without the corresponding 20-hour supply and demanded an audit, reclassification where necessary and credit adjustments for affected consumers.

The complaints have also been echoed by individual consumers.

One Osun resident questioned why the same ₦2,000 purchase could produce different quantities of electricity units at different times.

Another resident in Agunbelewo alleged that the area sometimes received less than 12 hours of electricity and could go several nights without supply.

Iwo: Years of equipment problems

In Iwo, the complaint is even more fundamental.

Residents told FIJ that two faulty circuit breakers had contributed to inadequate electricity supply for about two years.

Some communities classified under Band D reportedly struggled to receive even the eight hours associated with that band, while a few areas classified as Band A were also affected.

One resident said the electricity could flash for only a few minutes and disappear for the rest of the day.

Residents said businesses had been paralysed and that schools and hospitals were also affected.

The repeated pattern has produced a growing sense of frustration in parts of Osun: complaints, protests, explanations and temporary interventions, followed by fresh complaints.

Ogun: Band A bills, but residents want Band B back

The problem is not new in Ogun.

Residents in Ota previously protested after their areas were moved from Band B to Band A.

They complained about high bills and poor supply, with some residents saying they received estimated bills running into tens of thousands of naira.

IBEDC officials at the time explained that Band A classification was part of the wider regulatory framework and was not simply a unilateral decision of the local business hub.

The latest situation is more significant because Ogun was among the states specifically identified by IBEDC in its September apology to Band A customers following feeders that failed to meet their required supply hours.

Kwara: The Band A battle is not new

In Omu-Aran, Kwara State, residents and youths protested after their community was moved from Band C to Band A.

The protesters complained about inadequate supply and faulty transformers while simultaneously facing higher electricity charges.

They demanded that the community be returned to Band C until supply improved.

IBEDC’s response at the time was that NERC, rather than the local business office, was responsible for regulatory classification, while the company maintained that Band A was tied to a minimum 20-hour supply.

In Offa, residents have also previously petitioned the Federal Government over persistent electricity problems, calling for infrastructure improvements around the IBEDC business hub serving the area.

And in September, Kwara was again among the states where IBEDC acknowledged Band A supply failures.

The bigger question: Who bears responsibility?

IBEDC operates one of Nigeria’s largest electricity distribution franchises, covering Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and parts of Niger, Ekiti and Kogi states.

Its own website now publishes a Band A feeder compliance section, while the company also provides customers with mechanisms for making and tracking complaints.

That raises an important public-interest question.

If a feeder repeatedly fails to provide the service level attached to its tariff, how quickly does the regulatory system identify the failure, verify it and adjust the customer’s tariff or provide the applicable compensation?

IBEDC has already demonstrated that it knows compensation is part of the regulatory framework.

In June, the company announced special compensation for more than 50,000 eligible Band A customers affected by service shortfalls between February and March 2026, which IBEDC attributed to gas supply shortages.

The question now is whether that mechanism is sufficient to address the continuing complaints appearing across the franchise.

Customers are asking for more than explanations

The explanations from IBEDC point to genuine problems beyond the distribution company itself: inadequate generation, gas shortages, transmission faults, load shedding and unstable energy allocation.

But from the customer’s perspective, the immediate reality remains the same.

A household that pays a higher tariff expects the corresponding service.

A small business that loses electricity for long periods must either shut down or purchase power from a generator.

A water-dependent household may struggle to pump water.

A student may be unable to study or charge essential devices.

And a business already dealing with inflation must absorb another energy cost.

NERC’s own complaint procedure requires customers to first lodge complaints with their DisCo’s Customer Complaints Unit. If the matter is unresolved or delayed, it can be escalated to the NERC Consumer Forum and subsequently to the Commission.

That means the regulatory framework already provides a route for accountability.

What customers increasingly want to know is whether that route is producing results quickly enough.

Across IBEDC’s territory, the argument is no longer simply about whether electricity is available.

It is about whether the price Nigerians are being asked to pay is matching the service they actually receive and whether the institutions responsible for enforcing that relationship are doing enough when the promise breaks down.

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