The sudden and unguided increase in the electricity tariff as announced by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and Discos from 68 naira per kilowatt to 255 naira is bound to further impoverish the citizens and worsen the economic plight already plaguing the nation. Surreptitiously targeted at all customers under Band A who are projected to have 20 -22 hours daily power supply while those under Band B to E with an estimate of 16 hours power supply would, by all means, frustrate the more Nigerians who have been under difficulties in the face of inflation and fuel subsidy regime change.
Even as the Electricty Regulatory Commission on wednesday apologized to have made a mistake to charge the new tariff on all customers on equal basis attributing such mistake to her system failure , in the first place , there is no justification for such hike considering that power supply generally had been at a low ebb across the federation and 95 percent of users have not been disposed to sustain such bills . This is the fourth time NERC has increased the tariff since the 2020 multi year tariff order but has failed to sustain power supplies in accordance with tariff charges on customers .
To critically analyze the situation , it is evident that a customer who had been purchasing 134units monthly at ten thousand naira will have to pay 40, 000 naira to be able to sustain such units . It further goes to prove that the monthly electricity subsidies promised to be reduced to 52 percent by the regulatory commission at the tune of 131 .1 billion naira appear to be a mirage . However, it buttresses the fact that customers are being robbed their rights while the Discos continue to abnormally exploit the citizens in the name of managing electricty power supplies . For customers to be paying electricity bills not used under their accurate unit consumption amounts to using electronic data system smartness to extort money from the public .
This needless exploitation is long overdue and should be discontinued henceforth to allow Nigerians to breathe a fresh air of comfort in a Country of their own. The Electricity Regulatory Commission allows Discos to migrate those they want to Band A feeders knowing the fact that the commission cannot monitor their actions. Discos have been perpetrating fraud since the government is unable to fact-check their data which in the end may lead Discos to surreptitiously implement the tariff hike to all electricity customers irrespective of the Band. The government is expected to urgently halt this tariff increase as its pervasive lingering effects would be greater than the negative impacts of fuel subsidy change on the nation’s current economic status. I, therefore crave the indulgence of the government to immediately reverse such reckless increase and focus on transforming the economy whose strength has been weakened.
Chief Dr. Emeka Kalu
President , ECK Foundation
