There is so much fuss about the recent announcement about the hike in electricity tariff for areas that enjoy a minimum of 20 hours of power supply per day (BAND A) while other areas struggle to get two hours of interrupted power supply in 24 hours.
The old tariff for BAND A was N68, they will now be charged N225 per unit. The jack-up in the tariff is backed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and was made public on Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Here is everything you need to know about the new tariff, including the consumption rate of your appliances and the minimum number of hours based on your service band.
Number of Hours It May Take To Consume 1 Unit of Electricity
We checked data from one of the Discos, Ikeja Electric Plc, and here is the overview of the energy consumption of domestic appliances, the number of hours and minutes it will take you to finish one kilowatt (1 unit) of electricity. Check with your Disco and third party firms where you can pay for electricity unit.
ATTENTION: The power consumption on the appliances on this page play a significant role in determining the power consumed per KWh:
Lighting Bulb
- Tungsten Filament: 16hrs 67mins
- Energy Saving: 66hrs 67mins
Advice: It is recommended to use bulbs with as low 15 watts or lower in your home to reduce the energy consumption rate.
Fan
- Ceiling fan: 11hrs 76mins
- Standing fan: 14hrs 29mins
- Table fan: 25hrs
Electricity Kettle
- Medium: 27mins
- Small: 32.4min
Air-Conditioner
- 4HP: 20.4mins
- 2HP: 40.2mins
- 1.5HP: 53.4mins
- 1HP: 1hr 34mins
Refrigerator
- Large: 7hrs 14mins
- Medium: 10hrs
- Small: 12hrs 5mins
Cooker (Hot plate)
- 4 Plates: 13.2mins
- 2 Plates: 24mins
- 2 Plates + Oven: 18mins
- 1 Plate: 40.2mins
Pressing Iron
- Dry iron: 49.8mins
- Steam iron: 30mins
Note: An average iron of 1100watts
TV
- 300W: 3hrs 33mins
- 100W: 10hrs
Toaster
- Large: 42.6mins
- Medium: 1hr
- Small: 1hr 33mins
Note: The bread toaster uses between 800 watts to 1500 watts of energy, according to EnergyUseCalculator
Washing Machine
- Spinning, Dryer: 28.8mins
- Spinning: 2hrs 7mins
Blender (Medium)
- A medium blender may consume 1 unit of kwh within 2hrs 22mins
- Water Dispenser: 1hr 43mins
Microwave
- It may take 1hr 11mins for a medium size microwave to consume 1kw
Water Pump
- Small (1HP): 1hr 34mins
- Medium (1.5HP): 53.4mins
Factors that affect energy consumption
Alleged manipulation by pre-paid meter:
There are allegations of manipulation of the reading of the prepaid meter among officials of the distribution companies.
So, the consumption rate may be higher in a meter that disco has adjusted to suit its profit margin. For instance, a medium refrigerator that ordinarily consumes 1 unit for 10 hours, may finish within five hours.
Cost
Some users on the band A service complain that they rarely have 20 hours of power per day. For instance, Jabi area of Abuja, which is in band A doesn’t get up to 12 hours of power per day. If you fall in this category, the rate of energy consumption may be lower.
The energy consumption rate of appliances
If you use the old fashioned bulb that is 120 watts, your unit will deplete higher than the 15watts electric bulb.