A power sector official in Bayelsa State has explained why electricity bills may appear high despite limited supply, stating that consumption—not duration—determines charges.
The explanation followed a question from an interviewer who raised concerns about irregular power supply, noting that some communities receive electricity for only a short period after weeks of blackout.
Official explains consumption pattern
Responding, the official said that when electricity is restored after a long outage, residents tend to use multiple appliances at once, leading to heavy energy consumption within a short time.
“When light is given to people after a period of maybe one week, two weeks, one month, and eventually an energy is being given to that neighbourhood for one hour,” the official said.
He added that within that limited time, households attempt to complete tasks they could not carry out during the blackout.
“Within that one hour, those people living around that area are going to perform the function they have not done for one month. They are going to on their freezers. They are going to on their washing machine.”
“The same time they are going to on their water pumping machine. They are going to on their oven to microwave everything and they are going to engage in ironing because they are going to work for one more because they don’t understand they are going to get the light.”
‘Billing is based on usage, not time’
The official stressed that electricity billing is calculated based on energy consumed rather than how long power is supplied.
“And the energy that’s supposed to consume for one week have been consumed in two hours. And when a bill comes, people try to fight.”
“Why are you giving me a bill after giving me the energy consumption is not based on the hour. It’s based on the consumption.”
He further explained that electricity meters only record actual usage, regardless of supply duration.
“What did you use? This is how you use it. No, it’s not how long the power can stay for one week.”
“If nothing happens to your energy, you didn’t use it. Your metre will not blink, but it can be at home for one hour and you can use energy that somebody will not use for one week.”
Call for public understanding
The official described the situation as “bad usage” and urged residents to be more mindful of their electricity consumption habits.
“So it’s a bad usage. And we plead that people should understand this and pay whenever they come to them,” he added.
The remarks have sparked conversations around electricity supply challenges and billing practices in parts of the country.
Watch the video here…
Interviewer; “People complain you didn’t give them electricity, suddenly you people will only provide 1 hour electricity for them, how does that work?”
NEPA official in Bayelsa State; “The way the people use the light is the problem. Once they see light, they will turn on their… pic.twitter.com/dPDkowQjUd
— CHUKS 🍥 (@ChuksEricE) April 29, 2026
