The Federal government has hinted Nigerians to brace up for more increase in electricity tariff.
This is coming barely days after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved increase of electricity tariff for customers under the Band A.
Speaking at a briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the recent increase in electricity tariff is a pilot in phasing out of electricity subsidy in the country.
He said the government plans to remove all subsidies in the sector to allow the thriving of investment in the power sector.
Adelabu said: “This tariff review is in conformity with our policy thrust of maintaining a subsidized pricing regime in the short run or the short term with a transition plan to achieve a full cost reflective tariff for over a period of, let us say three years. I have mentioned it in a couple of media briefings that it is because of government sensitivity to the pains of our people that we will not make us migrate fully into a cost reflective tariff or to remove subsidy 100 percent in the power sector like it was done in oil and gas sector.”
“We are not ready to aggravate the sufferings any longer, which is why we said it must be a journey rather than a destination and the journey starts from now on, that we should do a gradual migration from the subsidy regime to a full cost reflective regime and we must start with some customers.
“This is more like a pilot for us at the Ministry of Power and our agencies. It is like a proof of concept that those that have the infrastructure sufficient enough to deliver stable power of enjoying 20 hours of light to be the ones to get tariff add.”
The minister added that the N225 kilowatt per hour Band A customers is little, relative to the N500 they pay for alternative energy such as diesel and others.
While explaining that Nigeria is experiencing a subsidy pricing regime where the government provides a large portion of the generation, transmission and distribution cost, Adelabu said the government was formerly subsidising 67 percent of the cost of electricity.
“The government would have paid N2.9tr for 2024. This is more than 10 percent of the national budget. It will be insensitive on our part to compel the government to pay such subsidy when we have other competing issues the government needs to fund under PAU its of funds we have,” he added.
Band A customers are those who receive 20-24 hours of electricity supply daily.
Subscribers under Band B enjoy 16 to 20 hours of power supply, while those in Band C receive 12 to 16 hours daily.
Band D subscribers benefit eight to 12 hours of power supply each day, and B and E subscribers only receive four to eight hours of electricity supply daily.
However, the tariff increment has sparked controversies regarding the classification of subscribers, with many fearing they may be charged more than their actual consumption.
Meanwhile, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) has provided its consumers steps on how to figure out which band they belong in, and help determine their bills:
How to establish your electricity feeder band
Visit www.ikejaelectric.com
Click on customer service
Click on Customer feeder information
Click on customer feeder verification
Enter your account or meter number to verify your feeder details.