NERC Speaks On Electricity Tariff Hike From January 1, 2024, Issues Subsidy Report

• The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has dismissed any plan to hike tariffs this January
• NERC said reports of impending tariff hikes by DisCos are fake news and should be dismissed
• The regulator said there had not been any meetings held with any DisCo to discuss tariff hikes

Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has debunked a widespread report of an impending electricity tariff hike beginning January 1, 2024.

Reports emerged on Sunday, December 31, 2023, of a purported plan by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to hike tariffs nationwide this January.

DisCos debunk plans of electricity hike

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The reports said the DisCos had perfected plans for the new tariff to take effect from January 2024.

According to a report from BusinessDay, the spokesman for NERC, Usman Abba, said the tariff hike reports were mere rumors and should be dismissed as fake news.

He denied any approval for any tariff hike, saying that the current electricity tariff order remains unchanged.

He stated that NERC and other stakeholders usually have meetings before any proposed increase, saying that no such meeting has been held with any DisCo concerning price hikes.

A quarterly report by NERC shows that electricity subsidies consumed about N204.59 billion in Q3 of 2023 and N135.23 billion in Q2, which is higher than the N36.02 billion spent in Q1 of 2023, Legit.ng reported.

The Nigerian government spent the amount to close the revenue generation shortfall in the power sector in the year's second quarter.

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The N135.2 billion spent by the government represents an increase of N99.21 billion, a 275% rise compared to the N36 billion it paid in Q1 of 2023, the NERC report indicates.

Leadership says the report also said the government incurred a subsidy debt of N135.23 billion in Q2 of 2023, higher than the N36.02 billion incurred in Q1 this year.

NERC revealed that the subsidy was due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all distribution companies, stating that the hike recorded in the period was due to the government's policy to harmonize exchange rates.

NERC says new electricity subsidy designed to favour the rich, reveals DisCos with highest tariffs

Legit.ng reported that A report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says that wealthy Nigerians make up the highest consumers of electricity subsidies in Nigeria.

NERC revealed this in its 2022 Market Competition Report released on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, saying that the end-user tariff subsidy in Nigeria is more favourable to the rich as the top income earners in Nigeria consume more electricity than others.

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The Commission said that the average price spent on electricity is about N64.4 per kilowatt per hour using the former exchange rate in Nigeria and was lower than the average tariff in West Africa.

Source: Legit.ng