The House of Representatives has asked the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to halt the implementation of the new electricity tariff increase.
The lower legislative chamber passed the resolution during plenary session on Tuesday, following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance.
The motion was sponsored by Nkemkanma Kama, a Labour Party (LP) lawmaker from Ebonyi State.
The NERC, on April 3, approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A category.
The new rates meant a hike from N67 per kilowatt-hour to N225 per kilowatt-hour, translating to approximately 336 percent increase for the consumers.
Band A customers are those who – theoretically – enjoy electricity supply for at least 20 hours per day.
NERC said the newly approved tariff is expected to reduce subsidies for the 2024 fiscal year by about N1.14 trillion.
However, The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned that the country will be thrown into darkness if the Federal government does not implement the new hike in electricity tariff.
Appearing before the senate committee on power on Monday, Adelabu said although citizens are bearing the brunt of the increase, it would “catapult us to the next level”, apparently repeating the familiar rhetoric.
