The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have been kicking
against it all week, but many Nigerians who are already feeling the bite of
hike in electricity charges imposed by the ministry of power, works and
housing. You’re most likely too busy hustling for your daily bread to embark on
any protests, but here are some ways to make this new development easier on
your pocket:
- Energy saving bulbs
Some might argue that Light Emitting Diodes,
LED, bulbs are the next best thing since instant noodles. And they would
probably be right. LEDs are extremely cost effective and consume 90 percent
less power than incandescent bulbs.
- Rechargeable, rechargeables
Except you’re a millionaire in dollars, you
have absolutely no reason not to own a few rechargeable lamps and fans. Save
yourself tones of money by investing in rechargeable devices, especially those
that don’t require much power to recharge in the first place. For bigger
organisations, it might pay you in the long run to go solar, although this
might require a bulk of initial investment
- Stalk your meter
Despite talk
about metres being given aware for free, many distribution companies are
charging as much as N5,000 per house for metre installation. Since your metre
is costing you so much, you might as well get the best out of it. Study your
meter. Find out which appliances take up more units and use them sparingly. It
goes without saying that you should put off appliances when they are not in
use.
- Opportunity cost
There was a time when it paid to
cook with your electric stove so that you could save cooking gas or kerosene.
That era just might be over now. Figure out what should be the foregone
alternative when it comes to choosing a power source for specific tasks.
- Know your limits
Desperate times call for desperate
measures. Discipline yourself to know when it’s time to put off the air
conditioner, or when you’ve had enough television time.
By Laju Iren
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