Electricity consumers in Nigeria have reacted against the secret hike of electricity tariff by the electricity distribution company.
According to The PUNCH, despite the fact that the majority of Discos kept this a secret, power customers have protested the action, calling it a ripoff given the difficult economic situation Nigeria is currently facing.
A resident of a highbrow estate in Lagos, Mr. Oye Sola, expressed regret over the price increase.
He said, “Electricity tariff is now N72.2 per unit. Another price hike from N66; I suspect they are going to N100. A higher price for poorer services.
Another customer of Ikeja Disco identified as Ola Busari said, “They are just milking us. This is a perfect robbery. Discos need to be checked.
Another Lagos resident named Olojede said, “They increased prices without informing us. There was no official communication to us as our estate representatives.”
However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, in its Multi-Year Tariff Order, provides a 15-year tariff path for the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry with limited minor reviews each year.
It claims that substantial evaluations every five years when all of the inputs were evaluated with stakeholders are conducted in light of changes in a small number of indicators like inflation, interest rates, currency rates, and generation capacity.
The latest pricing increase, which a power distribution business attributed to NERC on Wednesday, was not, however, announced by the regulator.
A Twitter user, Oyibo Ediri, accused the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company that the Disco quietly increasing the power tariff in December, alleging that the firm raised the rate for non-maximum demand customers by N12.65.
“AEDC has quietly increased the cost of electricity. Cost increased from N57.55 in December to N68.2 for tariff band A non-MD. No official statement from @aedcelectricity or @NERCNG on the increase. These people won’t stop to fleece us,” the Twitter user stated.
Replying to the tweet, the AEDC, via its official Twitter handle, @aedcelectricity, explained that the tariff hike was based on the order of NERC.
“Good day, please be informed that the increase in Tariff is in compliance with NERC order,” the Disco stated.
Also, reacting to the response of AEDC, Ediri asked the power firm to provide the current rates approved by the NERC.
“Kindly make the current rates available as ordered by @NERCNG. Thank you,” the Twitter user stated.
Another Twitter user, Justin David, who reacted to the request by Ediri, then said, “We await their response.”
However, the Disco made no additional remarks and did not respond to the power users’ inquiries.
However, the NERC clarified on its website that one of the main duties of the commission under Section 32(d) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 was to make sure that the licensees’ prices were reasonable for customers and sufficient to cover their costs and generate a profit that was reasonable for efficient operations.
“In pursuant to the authority given under Section 76 of the EPSR Act 2005, the commission established a methodology for determining electricity tariff in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and subsequently issued a tariff order called the Multi-Year Tariff Order that sets out tariffs for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Nigeria,” it stated.
It added, “The purpose of the MYTO is to set cost-reflective tariffs which will allow the power sector to be properly funded and functional.
“It provides a 15-year tariff path for the NESI with limited minor reviews each year in the light of changes in a limited number of parameters (such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and generation capacity) and major reviews every five years, when all of the inputs are reviewed with stakeholders.”
In response to the development, National Secretary of the Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network, Uket Obonga, confirmed the pricing hike but insisted that it was in accordance with the MYTO.
He said, “They’re (Discos) are transiting to the new tariff regime that takes effect from January. On January 1 this year, around 4pm, I had over 300 units in my meter, but to confirm whether there is an increment, I had to buy some units online.
“I bought units of N2,000, which is supposed to be about 26 or 27 units, but what I saw there was about 21 units, which is confirmation that there is a tariff increase according to the current MYTO.
“They moved into a new tariff regime on January 1. But there have been other arbitrary increments outside the MYTO regime. However, the one that took effect now is based on the MYTO, as captured in the MYTO 2020 order.”
Eko Electricity, Ikeja Electric, and Ibadan DisCos spokespersons Godwin Idemudia, Ayeni Akinola, and Busolami Tunwase all declined to comment on the situation. They gave our correspondent the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors’ contact information.
