Nigerians on Monday rejected the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s reduction of the tariff payable by Band A customers from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, electricity consumers and civil society organisations, in separate interviews with newsmen, demanded a reversal of the hike to the subsidy era tariff.
The new tariff announced on Monday came 33 days after the NERC raised the electricity tariff for Band A customers from N68/kWh to N225/kWh, representing about a 240 per cent increase.
Subsidy on electricity was withdrawn completely from the tariff of consumers in the Band A category, which constitutes about 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers across the country.
Based on the tariff hike, the Federal Government said it would save N1.5tn.
The government stated that the decision took effect from April 3, 2024, adding that Band A customers would enjoy up to 20 hours of power supply daily.
However, the House of Representatives, organised labour and the Nigerian Bar Association kicked against the hike in tariff payable by about 1.9 million consumers.
The House of Representatives called on the NERC to suspend forthwith the implementation of the new electricity tariff nationwide, while organised labour issued a two-week ultimatum demanding the reversal of the tariff hike.
Still, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu defended the increase during an investigative hearing held by the Senate Committee on Power last week, insisting that there would be a nationwide blackout in the next three months if the increase in electricity tariff was not implemented.
Notwithstanding the opposition to the new tariff order, the spokesman for the power ministry, Florence Eke, told newsmen on Sunday that the new tariff had come to stay and the government would not yield to public pressure.
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However, 24 hours after Eke’s assertion that the tariff hike would not be reversed, the NERC in a statement announcing the eight per cent reduction for band A customers said this was a result of changes in macroeconomic indices in April, especially the appreciation of the naira against the dollar in the foreign exchange market.
The commission noted that the decision came after a thorough review of the macroeconomic parameters and exchange rate appreciations.
In response to the NERC’s order, the Abuja, Ikeja, and Ibadan electricity distribution companies among others, announced a reduction in their tariffs, accordingly.
