Power outages crippling small businesses in Abuja, operators lament

By Halima Muhammad

 Many small business owners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have continued to lament the epileptic power supply to their business premises.

The business owners, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said their businesses were gradually collapsing due to poor electricity supply and the high cost of alternative power sources.

NAN reports that many parts of the FCT, especially the satellite towns, have been experiencing blackouts and poor power supply.

NAN also reports that while some areas receive electricity for only four hours a day, others have no supply at all.

A laundry operator, Mr Muhammadu Isah, said the lack of constant power supply was making it difficult for him to sustain his business.

“We are facing serious challenges due to poor electricity supply because our business depends heavily on electricity.

“The lack of power forces us to rely on generators to carry out our work, especially since we use washing machines for laundry,” he said.

Isah said another major challenge was the high cost of fuel needed to run generators.

He said the constant increase in fuel prices had made it very difficult for them to sustain the business, adding that “a large part of our income now goes into buying petrol”.

According to him, ironing customers’ clothes has become one of the biggest challenges because generators cannot effectively power electric pressing irons.

“As a result, we are forced to use charcoal irons, which also create many problems for us. Sometimes, while lighting the charcoal iron, a person may get burnt, and at other times it can burn customers’ clothes.

“This often makes them angry, and some even stop bringing us clothes for ironing,” Isah said.

A tailor, Mrs Amina Yusuf, said the inconsistent power supply had slowed production because most of the machines they use now depend on electricity.

She said most sewing machines, weaving machines, and steaming equipment used for fixing stones on clothes require electricity.

According to her, the situation has also caused delays in delivering customers’ clothes on schedule.

“When there is electricity, I can sew about four to five clothes in a day, but because of poor power supply, I can no longer meet my targets.

“Most times, we spend several hours without electricity and we are left with no option but to use generators, which is expensive,” she said.

Mr David Okafor, a business centre operator, said the poor electricity supply had negatively affected his operations and increased the cost of running the business.

According to him, the business depends heavily on electricity to operate computers, photocopying machines, printers, laptops, and other internet devices used in rendering services.

He said the unstable power supply had disrupted daily activities and reduced productivity, adding that customers sometimes experienced delays in accessing services due to outages.

Okafor said the situation often resulted in customer dissatisfaction and loss of income.

He explained that the frequent power outages forced him to rely on generators to sustain operations, thereby increasing operational costs due to the rising price of fuel and generator maintenance.

Okafor added that the high cost of paper and shop rent had further compounded the challenges facing the business.

He said the constant electricity challenges had forced him to adopt solar energy as an alternative to maintain uninterrupted services.

“Although the installation of solar energy is expensive, it has helped improve business operations and reduced dependence on generators,” Okafor said.

He added that the solar system now enables him to continue working effectively regardless of the availability of public power supply.

Another tailor, Miss Chioma Michael, said that the lack of electricity had become a major challenge in her small tailoring business.

She said it was a daily struggle that affected productivity, customer trust, and even mental health.

“When there is no electricity, everything becomes difficult. You cannot iron, you cannot sew quickly, yet customers still expect their clothes to be ready on time,” Michael said.

She said that in many small tailoring shops, generators had become as important as sewing machines.

“However, fuelling them every day is very expensive. Sometimes, money meant for transport, feeding, or buying materials is spent on petrol just to keep the machines running for a few hours,” Michael said.

She appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, address the electricity problem, saying it was making it very difficult for small business owners like her to sustain their businesses. (NAN)