NLC Strike: Abuja DisCo asks for customers’ patience after cutting off power supply

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has appealed to its customers for patience after the company cut off its power supply early hours on Tuesday, September 5, following the strike action initiated by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

AEDC asked its customers to bear with them as they are currently having discussions with their stakeholders on how to handle the issue.

The company had earlier on Tuesday issued a statement via Twitter (X) saying that the prolonged power supply outage was due to the strike action by the NLC.

The AEDC statement signed by the management read:

• ”Dear Valued Customers,
• “We are aware of the general power outage being experienced across our franchise due to enforcement by NLC of the 2-day warning strike embarked upon by the labour union.
• “We apologize for any inconvenience you may be experiencing as a result of this, as we continue our engagement with key stakeholders toward minimizing the impact of the strike on our customers.
• “In the meantime, we recommend that you take necessary precautions to manage the outage effectively. Kindly unplug sensitive electronic devices and appliances from power sources pending the restoration of power.
• “We will continue to provide updates on developments regarding the impact of the strike action on our operations through our official social media handles.
• “Thank you for your understanding and continued support during this challenging time. We remain committed to serving you.”

Dear customers, This is for your information.
For further updates on power outages, follow our new Twitter handle: @aedcsupport#AEDC #Abujadisco #PowerofCommitment pic.twitter.com/dKofGG8gsj

— aedcelectricity (@aedcelectricity) September 5, 2023

Reactions

Several customers in Abuja have expressed their reactions to the statement made by AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company). They question why AEDC has chosen to participate in the strike action when other Distribution Companies (DisCos) run by private entities are not following suit.

Dear customer, we kindly request your patience as we continue our ongoing discussions with stakeholders regarding this matter.

— aedcelectricity (@aedcelectricity) September 5, 2023

NLC is on strike because of the hardship caused by the fuel hike,aedc joined and left us all in darkness. We are to either go and buy the expensive fuel for our generator or let our food spoil thereby increasing the hardship 🥹 which way my people 🙄

— premium 💥 (@premium_chick) September 5, 2023

Some have also highlighted the reactionary nature of AEDC’s statement, emphasizing that it should have been issued earlier before the strike action, especially considering the hours of power outage experienced by customers on the day of the strike.

This right here is one reason why Nigeria can never be better. Why can't institutions say that they'll be joining the strike action tomorrow and this will result in 48hrs of power outage rather than communicating enforcement after 8 hours of power outage.

— Effanga (@SuperEmbee) September 5, 2023

The Backstory

On September 1, 2023, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) announced that it was set to initiate a two-day warning strike starting on Tuesday, September 5. This strike is a demonstration of their discontent with the Federal Government’s handling of issues stemming from the removal of fuel subsidies.

It is also important to note that the Federal Government had previously set up committees to roll out palliatives and announced some initiatives which include purchasing of CNG vehicles, N75 billion single-digit interest loans to manufacturers and MSMEs, allocation of N5 billion to states and distribution of grains across the 36 states.