The House of Representatives has once again instructed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to revert to the previous electricity tariff for Band A.
This decision was made on Tuesday after the adoption of recommendations from the House Committee on Power, presented by the committee’s chairman, Victor Nwokolo. The report was approved by the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
On April 3, NERC had approved an increase in the electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification, who receive 20 hours of electricity daily. The tariff was raised from N66 to N225 per kilowatt (kW), but it was later reduced to N206.80/kW on May 6.
Defending the tariff increase before the Senate Committee on Power on April 29, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu stated that the federal government could no longer afford to subsidize power. He mentioned that reviving the sector would require about $10 billion annually over the next decade.
In his report, Nwokolo recommended that NERC revert to the previous tariff as outlined in the House’s earlier motion. He added that NERC should comply with the provisions of Section 116(2d) and (3b) of the Act within 60 days.
Furthermore, the House resolved that an independent team of experts should be consulted by the joint committees to determine the actual cost of electricity tariffs. Nwokolo also mentioned that all electricity distribution companies should revert to the old tariff pending the resolution of the matter by the House.
“The joint committees concluded that the implementation of the tariff increase should be gradual, phased over time, not implemented all at once,” Nwokolo said.
On April 30, the House of Representatives had already asked NERC to suspend the implementation of the new tariff. This resolution was passed during a plenary session following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Nkemkanma Kama, a Labour Party (LP) lawmaker from Ebonyi State.
