•Pete Edochie
Veteran Nollywood actor Pete Edochie has lamented the rising cost of coping with unstable power supply, saying he now spends about ₦40,000 every day to keep his home running.
He disclosed this during an interview with African Independent Television today, where he broke down his daily spending on electricity and alternative power sources.
The actor, who turns 79 tomorrow, said he spends N10,000 daily on electricity units and an extra N30,000 on diesel and fuel to keep his home running.
“I pay N10,000 every day for light in my house. Then I spend an additional N30,000: N20,000 for diesel and N10,000 for fuel.
“On the whole, I spend 40,000 every single day on light. It disturbs me a lot. I mean, I’m not working just for light. It disturbs me a great deal,” the ‘Lionheart’ actor revealed.
He said the cost of power had become too high and suggested that many politicians were more concerned with enjoying office than addressing the hardship facing ordinary Nigerians.
Edochie’s frustration came as fresh data from the National Grid showed that electricity generation had dropped further across the country, deepening the hardship faced by Nigerians.
The grid disclosed this in a post shared on its official X account this morning, reporting another decline in electricity generation nationwide.
The latest drop continues a pattern of instability recorded on the grid this year, with repeated disruptions pushing output down and worsening power supply across the country.
A check on X also showed that several areas had remained in blackout in the last 24 hours, affecting homes and businesses.
Among the affected areas are Odogunyan and Odonla in Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area of Lagos, where residents have reportedly been without electricity since yesterday morning.
Data showed that electricity distribution companies received only 2,830 megawatts yesterday as gas shortages forced several power plants to cut output, leaving many homes and industries in darkness.
Operational figures from the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that generation stood at 3,940.53MW at about 5:00 a.m. on March 5, 2026.
Between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., some generation units were forced offline because of inadequate gas supply, leading to a further 292MW drop in available power.
The reduced generation left the 11 distribution companies with a combined load allocation of 2,830MW, while output later fell as low as 1,490MW at about 6:00 p.m.
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company got the highest allocation with 490MW, followed by Ikeja Electric with 484MW and Eko Electricity Distribution Company with 413MW.
Other allocations included 306MW to Ibadan DisCo, 207MW to Benin DisCo and 198MW to Enugu DisCo.
Port Harcourt DisCo received 178MW, Kano got 173MW, Kaduna got 161MW, Jos received 144MW, while Yola got 76MW.
The development highlights the depth of Nigeria’s electricity challenge, as poor gas supply, weak infrastructure and underinvestment continue to limit power generation despite the country’s vast natural gas reserves.
Meanwhile, the federal government is pushing ahead with more than 1,000 mini grid projects under a rural electrification programme expected to add over 200MW of solar electricity to the national power system.
Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this in Abuja during a visit by the National Judicial Institute, saying the projects are part of a $750m public programme.
