Again, Nigeria Increases Electricity Tariffs

Barely two months after hike in electricity tariff, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has approved a new increase of over 50 per cent for consumers nationwide.

According to a revised Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO, signed by the Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, on December 30, 2020, and sighted Tuesday, the new tariff increase took effect on January 1, 2021, and supersedes the previous Order NERC/2028/2020.

In the new Order NERC/225/2020, the newspaper said the commission considered the 14.9 percent 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 percent  and the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the power firms to raise the tariff.

The revised Service Based Tariff, SBT, also saw increase in the rates payable by all classes of electricity users unlike the one of November 2020, that exempted low power getters.

This is effective till June 2021 while a Cost Reflective Tariff, CRT, expected to raise the new cost higher will be activated from June to December 2021, the NERC Order revealed.

Recall that the NERC had raised tariff for the 11 DisCos in the country in September, drawing outrages from customers and the organised labour.

The Federal Government therefore ordered the suspension of the decision in view of the economic hardship occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, on November 1 last year, the suspended tariff regime was reintroduced with some discounts for a segment of customers.