NERC denies increasing electricity tariff by 50%
The management of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said there is no 50 per cent increase in electricity tariff.
NERC spokesman Micheal Faloseyi refuted the reported increment in a statement on Tuesday.
“The commission hereby state unequivocally that no approval has been granted for 50 per cent tariff increase in the tariff order for Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) which took effect from January 1, 2021,” Faloseyi said.
“On the contrary, the tariff for customers on Service Bands D and E (customers being served less than an average of 12 hours of supply per day for a period of one month) remains frozen and subsidised in line with the policy direction of the Federal Government.
“In compliance with the Electric Power Sector Reforms Acts (EPRSA) and the nation’s tariff methodology for biannual review, the rates for Service Bands A, B, C, D and E have been adjusted by N2.00 to N4.00 per kWhr to reflect the partial impact of inflation and movement in foreign exchange rates.”
Faloseyi said that the commission remains committed to protecting electricity consumers from failure to deliver on committed service levels under the service-based tariff regime.
NERC spokesman asked any customer that has been impacted by any rate increase beyond the above provision of the tariff order should report to the commission at customer.complaints@nerc.gov.ng.
It was reported on many traditional news media outfits as well as many online media platforms early on Tuesday that the Federal Government has, again, increased the tariffs paid for electricity by Nigerians by about 50 per cent, despite the severe blackouts and unimaginable power outages in the country.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which was said to have announced the new development in an order copied all the distribution companies (Discos), said it was embarking on the hike considering the changes in inflation rate, foreign exchange, generation capacity and gas prices, among others.
The latest increase comes about four months after the last one, which was sternly but unsuccessfully opposed by organised labour, prompting a temporary suspension, which finally led to negotiations that did not yield much.
In a revised Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) signed by the new Chairman of NERC, Mr. Sanusi Garba, and Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, on December 31, 2020, the memo indicated that the new tariff increase took effect on January 1, 2021.
It noted that the latest order, NERC/225/2020, supersedes the previous Order NERC/2028/2020.
According to the NERC, the factors taken into consideration were: “14.9 per cent inflation rate rise in November 2020, foreign exchange of N379.4/$1 as of December 29, 2020, available generation capacity, US inflation rate of 1.22 per cent and the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the power firms.”
The order also covers the rate of increases expected to be paid by Nigerians between now and 2024, with a unit costing as much as N74 by then.
