Ikeja Electric Band A apology: what customers are owed when supply drops below 20 hours

Ikeja Electric has apologised again to Band A customers. Techeconomy reports that the Lagos distribution company posted a notice on X on Thursday 5 November 2026 saying it fell short of the expected minimum service level of 20 hours on listed Band A feeders for 3 and 4 November. The notice named no cause, no corrective measures and said nothing about compensation.

What does Band A promise customers?

Band A customers are entitled to a minimum of 20 hours of supply a day, as Techeconomy notes. ICIR reported in 2025 that the 20-hour mandate came with a tariff increase of over 300% for Band A customers. The report does not say how many hours were actually delivered on 3 and 4 November, and the feeders are described only as "selected" Band A feeders across parts of Lagos.

Is this a one-off?

Not by the report's account. Techeconomy cites an FIJ report that Ikeja Electric apologised seven times in nine days between 27 October and 4 November. ICIR has also covered an earlier Ikeja Electric apology for failing to meet the 20-hour target. Some social media users, per Techeconomy, asked why customers in other bands with long outages do not get public apologies, and others called for the A, B and C classification to be scrapped. Those are users' views, not findings.

Can Band A customers get compensation?

There is precedent, but no confirmation it applies now. According to Techeconomy, NERC issued Directive No. NERC/2026/002 in June 2026 covering Band A customers hit by generation-related shortfalls from February to March 2026. It provided token credits for prepaid customers and bill adjustments for postpaid customers, and barred DisCos from using the credits to offset debts.

In 2025, ICIR reported that NERC's April tariff order directed DisCos to compensate Band A customers on 557 streets across 152 feeders, either through electricity credit or by improving supply. The report gave no amounts or compliance deadline.

None of the sources says the June directive covers November. If you are a Band A customer, keep a record of outage times, and use the complaint route through your DisCo and NERC, which Pulse has explained in a separate how-to on blackouts and wrong bills. Do not pay anyone to "process" compensation.

The notice matters because the 20-hour promise is what Band A customers pay the higher tariff for. When a DisCo publicly admits a shortfall but offers no cause and no remedy, customers are left to guess whether they will see any credit, and whether the problem sits with generation, the grid or the distribution network. Ikeja Electric and NERC can settle that by publishing the cause and stating whether compensation applies.

Information was correct as of 9 November 2026. Pulse will update this story if Ikeja Electric or NERC publish a cause or a compensation decision.