ELECTRICITY THEFT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NIGERIAN

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY INDUSTRY.

BY IKEZAM PRINCE(SS2) FROM JEPHTHAH COMPREHENSIVE SECONDARY

SCHOOL.

Electricity theft refers to the criminal act of using electricity without the intent of
paying for it. It involves the illegal and unlawful direct connection to the electricity
distribution source. Electricity theft has been one of the major problems facing the electricity
supply industry. It is done deliberately to deceive the electricity supply industry by tampering
with the meter for a lower reading. People who carry out this despicable act often add a
magnet to a meter to tamper with the reading. Also, they can sometimes rig an electricity line
from the power source by by-passing a meter. Other shameful act includes; illegal tapping of
bare wires or underground cable, illegal terminal tampering of overhead lines on the lower
tension side of the transformer and so on.

According to the Electricity Distribution Companies(DISCOS) in Nigeria, 40% of

electricity users do not pay bills. Also, the electricity supply industry loses about ₦174 billion
yearly due to illegal connections (Business Day Report) and this renders the electricity
companies of paying their staff due to the loss of such amount of money. Electricity industry
workers are often disengaged from their jobs because there are no funds to pay salaries. All
of these leads to the loss of valuable workers thereby affecting the electricity supply industry.

Electricity theft worsens the current epileptic power situation in Nigeria. Theft
damages the grid infrastructure and this eventually leads to irregularities in the power supply.
Nigerians think that they are the victims of lack of power but they fail to realize that the real
victims here are the electricity supply companies. The money that these companies should
use to purchase new infrastructure is used in repairing the vandalized electricity
infrastructure.

There is no problem that cannot be solved if the right solution is applied. In

order to minimize electricity theft, the electricity supply industry should enforce the law
available in section 1 of the Nigerian Electricity Commission’s Electricity Theft and Other
Related Offences Regulations, 2014, Section 390 of the criminal code and Section 287 of the
penal code in other to minimize electricity and serve as an example to others who engage in
electricity theft.

All electricity supply companies should provide smart meters with associated
Advanced Metering Infrastructure, anti-theft cables and advanced monitoring technology that
would automatically indicate in real-time any possible change on the network. This will
enable the electricity supply industry know those who tamper with them quickly.

The electricity industry should employ qualified staff that will humanly examine
unauthorized line diversions and check problematic equipment and hardware. The staff will
also provide enlightenment campaigns so that the people can know the effects of electricity
theft.