Residents of Piawe community in Bwari Area Council, Abuja, have raised concerns over the prolonged blackout in the community following a fault with their electricity transformer.
According to an anonymous resident, the transformer developed a fault more than three months ago, and since then, residents have remained without electricity. Despite several efforts to resolve the situation, including an application for a replacement transformer, the community says nothing concrete has been done.
The prolonged blackout is now taking a toll on residents, particularly local businesses that depend on electricity to operate. For many households, living without power for more than three months has become increasingly difficult.
With frustration growing, community members are reportedly considering contributing money among themselves to purchase a new transformer.
However, this has raised an important question: Should residents be responsible for purchasing the infrastructure required for an electricity distribution company to provide its service?
Residents argue that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), as the electricity service provider, has a responsibility to maintain and replace damaged infrastructure within its network.
The situation has also triggered comparisons with other service providers. Telecom subscribers, for instance, pay for network services, but communities do not ordinarily have to contribute money to purchase network equipment or build telecommunications infrastructure for operators to provide their services.
This has left residents asking: What exactly is the responsibility of AEDC, and what role should the government play in ensuring that communities are not left without essential services for months?
While residents understand that infrastructure can develop faults and that replacement equipment may take time to procure, they believe that more urgent action should be taken when an entire community has remained without electricity for over three months.
For Piawe residents, this is no longer just about darkness. It is about livelihoods, security, household comfort and the ability of small businesses to survive.
The community is therefore appealing to AEDC, the relevant authorities and government agencies to urgently intervene and restore electricity to Piawe.
Residents say they need answers, but more importantly, they need light.
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