Generator Prices Crash on Weak Demand
Energy
By Chinazor Megbolu
The prices of electricity generating sets are falling, a THISDAY market survey has shown.
According to statistics obtained from key markets in the Lagos metropolis, some of the prices have dropped by almost 50 per cent.
This may be an indication of more stable power supply, which has led to a decline in demand for generators, although some people are now cashing in on this situation to acquire their own sets.
The Tiger 950 brand, for instance, which was sold at N20,000 last year, now goes for N10,500 while the Yamaha 2.7 kVA now sells for N35,000 compared to the former price of N60,000.
Also, the Yamaha 6.7 kVA generator price dropped to N100,000 from the old price of N180,000. These price cuts equally applied to other brands like Honda, Kawasaki, Kubota.
Some consumers who purchased generators attributed their decision to buy to the erratic electricity supply by the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) that had been the lot of Nigerians for some time.
Others said they were disenchanted with the high electricity bills from NEPA, despite poor power suuply.
According to Mr. Godson Egwuatu, a dealer on Wharf Road, Apapa, Lagos, the rate at which members of the public were purchasing generators, made their prices to drop.
The story was the same during a visit to Es-Kay Agricultural and Technical Ventures located along Kirikiri/Mile2 road, Apapa. An official said that the reason prices have come down is due to the forces of demand.
He said that competition among suppliers was another factor responsible for the low price.
He however added that the prices stated above were for brand new ones while those of second hand types popularly called "Tokunbo" ranged from N7,000-N70,000,
Manufacturers and industrial concerns had earlier noted that the reliance on private generators to run factories had increased the use of diesel in the past one year.
The Manufacturers Associa-tion of Nigeria (MAN) said the development resulted in "astronomical increase in the cost of production and consequently prices of goods and services.
However, the relative steady public power supply in many parts of the country may have brought about a decline in the purchase of electricity power generators.
Reacting to the issue, the spokesman for NEPA Ikeja Zone, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, told THISDAY that if there was a rise in the use of private generating sets, it was not due solely to drop in power supply from NEPA.
Adeyanju said while the authority was battling with transmission problems in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, consumers however have the right to use their money to buy generators.
"NEPA is trying to make sure that this transmission problem is a thing of the past. We may have faults with cables and other equipment like transformers, for example, and you know that packed-up or damaged equipment cost money for replacements, though in some parts of Lagos, NEPA has improved," he stated.
When asked if NEPA services were dropping faster given the rate at which members of the public were going for generators, the NEPA spokesman said this was not true.
"(If) people are buying generators, (it is) because they want to, and not because of NEPA power failure. They have money, anybody can buy generators as long as you have the money," he said.
Adeyanju said that NEPA nationwide has embarked on many projects that will enable the authority further improve its supply.
"It's a matter of time. we are not relenting on this projects," he said.
Pekun urged Nigerians to be patient with NEPA and report any fault or power failure in their areas to the appropriate NEPA offices.
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