The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has refuted claims that it has increased electricity tariffs by 50 percent, citing circulating reports as misleading.
This was made known by NERC’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Michael Faloseyi, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Faloseyi said that the rates for service bands A to E, which reflects consumption levels between 20 and 4 hours, have however, been increased by N2 to N4 Naira per kilowatt.
He also noted that the extant exclusion on service bands D and E, representing consumers enjoying less than 12 hours daily electricity, from the previous tariff hike still stands.
Thus, their increment would be reflected using their current tariff.
“The commission hereby state unequivocally that no approval has been granted for 50 per cent tariff increase in the tariff order for Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) which took effect from January 1, 2021.
“On the contrary, the tariff for customers on Service Bands D and E (customers being served less than an average of 12 hours of supply per day for a period of one month) remains frozen and subsidised in line with the policy direction of the Federal Government.
“In compliance with the Electric Power Sector Reforms Acts (EPRSA) and the nation’s tariff methodology for biannual review, the rates for Service Bands A, B, C, D and E have been adjusted by N2.00 to N4.00 per kWhr to reflect the partial impact of inflation and movement in foreign exchange rates,” he said.
Faloseyi said that the commission remains committed to protecting electricity consumers from failure to deliver on committed service levels under the service-based tariff regime.
According to him, any customer that has been impacted by any rate increase beyond the above provision of the tariff order should report to the commission at customer.complaints@nerc.gov.ng.
