Nigerian government increases electricity tariff again

Nigerian government increases electricity tariff again

- An emerging report indicates that Nigerians would have to pay more for electricity in 2021

- The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has explained why it approved a tariff hike

- The new increase may generate negative reactions from Nigerians

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The federal government has approved over 50% hike in electricity tariff payable by customers of the 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos).

The hike was approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Daily Trust reported.

The publication stated that the new increase took effect on January 1, 2021, and supersedes the previous Order NERC/2028/2020, according to a revised Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) signed by the new chairman of NERC, Engr. Sanusi Garba.

FG increases electricity tariff again
An employee at the Afam VI power plant talks on a walkie-talkie at the plant in Port Harcourt. Photo: Florian Plaucheur.
Source: Getty Images

The commission explained that it approved the hike due to the 14.9% inflation rate rise in November 2020, foreign exchange of N379.4/$1 as of December 29, 2020, and the available generation capacity.

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The newspaper stated that the new increase also saw a hike in the rates payable by all classes of electricity users unlike the one of November 2020, which exempted low power getters.

According to the New Telegraph, the NERC Order revealed that the new tariff 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 latest increase comes just two months after the government implemented a much-opposed hike in November 2020.

Meanwhile, DisCOS have been warned not to sell meters to Nigerians in any capacity. The warning was given by the federal government.

Specifically, the federal government vowed to sanction anty Disco caught selling meters or asking Nigerians to pay money to get the item.

In another news, Senator Danjuma Goje has said it may take Nigeria about 41 years to achieve steady power supply due to the federal government’s poor funding of the power sector.

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The lawmaker made the statement on Monday, October 26, after representatives from the ministry of power disclosed that of the N165b required for capital projects in 2020, only N4b was released by the government.

Goje who is a member of the Senate committee on power expressed concern over the inadequate funding for the power sector.

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Nigerian Electricity Crisis Explained | Legit TV

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Authors:
Kess Ewubare avatar

Kess Ewubare Kess Ewubare is a former senior political/current affairs editor at Legit.ng. He has a diploma in-law in addition to a BSc and a master’s degree in mass communication. Kess is a journalist with over 10 years of working experience in several fields of journalism ranging from radio presenting, television news reporting, newspaper reporter, feature and magazine writing as well as online and multi-media journalism.