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

The business owners who spoke on Thursday in Abuja said their businesses are gradually collapsing due to poor electricity supply and the high cost of alternative power sources.

Many parts of the FCT, especially the satellite towns, have been experiencing blackouts or poor power supply. While some areas had power for just four hours a day, others had none.

A laundryman, Muhammadu Isah, said the lack of a constant power supply was making it hard 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.

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

He said the constant increase in fuel prices made it difficult to sustain the business, “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 power electric pressing irons effectively.

“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,” Mr Isah explained.

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

She said most of the sewing machines, weaving machines, and steaming equipment used for fixing stones on clothes use light. 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 items of clothing in a day, but because of the 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 are expensive,” she said.

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

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

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

Mr Okafor said the situation often led to customer dissatisfaction and income loss. He explained that frequent power outages forced him to rely on generators to sustain operations, thereby increasing operational costs due to rising fuel and maintenance costs.

Mr Okafor added that the high cost of paper and shop rent further compounded the business’s challenges. He said the constant electricity challenges forced him to adopt solar energy as an alternative to maintain uninterrupted service.

“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, Chioma Micheal, said that in her small tailoring business, the lack of electricity has become a major challenge. She said it was a daily struggle that affects productivity, customer trust, and even mental health.

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

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

“However, fueling 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,” Ms Michael said.

She appealed to the government to address the electricity issue with urgency, as it makes it difficult for small business owners like her to maintain their businesses.

(NAN)