EVERYONE has been talking about the increase in electricity tariff for many months now and, since we are expected to stay at home for the festive season, we could be paying even more money. Nigeria is already hard enough and Lagos already costly enough for you to be ripped off by outrageous electricity bills. If you are looking for ways to cut costs, there are numerous ways to go about it if you live in Lagos.
Homes in Lagos are either fitted with a postpaid meter or a new prepaid meter. The newly installed prepaid meters actually make it easier to track and control energy consumption at home. Whether we like it or not, numerous officials of the electric distribution companies are taking advantage of houses that are equipped with the older meters. So, your first step to electricity tariff independence and transparency is to secure a prepaid meter.
A house without a prepaid meter are the most exploitated, your bill is always estimated and easily distorted or inflated. The lesser room for accuracy in charges will only make it difficult to get a fair deal from NEPA, or PHCN, or IKEDC. If you want to save a lot of power, you may have to secure a prepaid meter first.
After installing a prepaid meter, get rid of background power consumption. This means that you have to turn off appliance or devices the right way. If you turn off a gadget but leave it plugged in, power is still consumed and this will be read on the meter. Instead, cut off power to a home appliance completely by turning off both the socket and the power switch of the appliance.
Use energy-saving bulbs. Non-energy-efficient bulbs are cheaper to purchase but they will add to electricity bill cost over time and become more expensive choices. These bulbs consume far more power than energy-saving bulbs; the average wattage of an ordinary bulb is between 60 Watts and 200 watts. Energy-saving bulbs, on the other hand, are as low as 7 to 11 watts. This means that you would save ten times more with an energy-efficient bulb because normal bulbs consume more than ten times the energy-efficient ones.
It would also help to reduce energy consumption if you become more cautious with how long you leave your bulbs on. Many Nigerians leave their lights on even in broad daylight, this is very unsustainable. Bulbs and lighting are supposed to function only at night.
Also, keep your cooling machines running only when you need them. Ceiling fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators are some of the biggest power consumers in the home. Leaving any of these appliances running for a day makes a telling impact on your electricity bills than you notice. A 1.5hp (1119watts) air conditioner running for 10 hours at a rate of ₦60 per kilowatt would cost you over ₦30,000 alone. An average refrigerator consumes about 1200watts each day, this means that it is not too far away from the consumption levels of an air conditioner. Cut down on the runtime of these appliances and ensure they are never overheating.
Asides from cooling machines, we also know that proper management of washing machines and other electrical appliances on time can make the difference in your electricity bill this yuletide. Monitor your devices, keep sockets off at all times when not in use, understand watt ratings to know what is consuming more power, and use a prepaid meter if you don't have one.
