Nigerians will from Wednesday, April 1, 2020, pay more for electricity. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission had disclosed this in its December 2019 Minor Review of
Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year
2020.
Reports on Monday
showed that the decision to increase tariff had not yet been suspended
despite the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A top source at Ikeja Electric told Newsment the firm had not received any directive from NERC as regards reversal of the plan.
He said, “According to the tariff order
for the year, we are supposed to increase on April 1, 2020. So far, we
have not received any directive not to go ahead.”
Efforts to get NERC to speak on the
matter were not successful on Monday as the spokesman for the
commission, Usman Arabi, said he was not around but on a course at the
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.
Arabi’s substitute, however, did not respond to calls or a text message sent to him.
NERC had disclosed in its December 2019
Minor Review of Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance
Order for the Year 2020 that the order was issued to reflect the impact
of changes in the minor review variables in the determination of
cost-reflective tariffs and relevant tariff and market shortfalls for
2019 and 2020.
The commission said the order also
determined the minimum remittances payable by the distribution companies
in meeting their market obligations based on the allowed tariffs.
It said, “The Federal Government’s
updated Power Sector Recovery Programme does not envisage an immediate
increase in end-user tariffs until April 1, 2020, and a transition to
full cost reflectivity by end of 2021.
“In the interim, the Federal Government
has committed to funding the revenue gap arising from the difference
between cost-reflective tariffs determined by the commission and the
actual end-user tariffs payable by customers.”
According to NERC, all Discos are
obligated to settle their market invoices in full as adjusted and netted
off by applicable tariff shortfall.
It said, “All FGN intervention from the
financing plan of the PSRP for funding tariff shortfall shall be applied
through NBET and the market operator to ensure 100 per cent settlement
of invoices issued by market participants.
“Effectively, this order places a freeze
on the tariffs of the TCN and administrative charges until April 2020
at the rates applied in generating MO invoices for the period of January
to October 2019.”
PUNCH Reports