Power distribution companies, on Monday, backtracked on their earlier announcement of a tariff hike projected to take effect from July 1, 2023, as they stated that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had yet to approve the hike.
Various public notices from some of the Discos seen on Sunday
had stated that the electricity tariff would be raised by about 30 to 40 per
cent for selected categories of consumers on July 1, 2023.
In a public service announcement from the Abuja Electricity
Distribution Company, for instance, the Disco had said, “Effective July 1,
2023, please be informed that there will be an upward review to the electricity
tariff influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.
“Under the MYTO (Multi Year Tariff Order) 2022 guidelines,
the previously set exchange rate of N441/$1 may now be revised to approximately
N750/$1 which will have an impact on the tariffs associated with your
electricity consumption”
But in an appeal by the same AEDC, issued on Monday, the
firm asked its customers to disregard the planned tariff increase as approval
for such an increment had not been received.
“Please disregard the circulating communication, regarding
the review of electricity tariffs. Be informed that no approval for such
increments has been received. We regret any inconvenience,” the AEDC stated in
its latest announcement.
A senior official in NERC confirmed that the regulator had
not given the Discos approval to announce the hike in tariffs.
“The commission did not give them such approval,” the
official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of approval, stated.
Reacting to the development, a former spokesperson of the
AEDC and seasoned expert in the sector, Olabode Fadipe, said, “NERC never
publishes any position or makes any official statement. It is the Discos that
does that. Once the Discos receive approval from NERC, they effect the
adjustment straightaway.
“Discos perhaps got approval for 1st July and chose to put
their customers on notice only to be told that their action was hasty. That end
users have been told to ignore the message does not mean that the increase
won’t be affected.”
Although we later reached out to a spokesperson for Ikeja
Electric, Ayeni Akinola, who described the initial trending circular as “fake”,
the circular advised customers with prepaid meters to purchase energy units in
bulk before the price increment takes effect from July 1.
“If you have a prepaid meter, buying bulk energy units for
your home or office before the end of the month may help you make some savings
before you have to buy at the new rate.
“For those on post-paid (estimated) billing, a significant
increment is imminent in your monthly billing, starting from August,” it
stated.
Also reached out to the Assistant Manager Communications,
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Mary Anavhe, who dismissed an
imminent increase in tariffs.
We further reached out to the spokespersons for Eko Disco
and Ibadan Electric, Babatunde Lasaki, and Busolami Tunwase, respectively,
including the Executive Secretary for the Association of Nigerian Electricity
Distributors, Sunday Oduntan.
While both Lasaki and Oduntan declined to pick up calls nor
responded to inquiries on the development, Tunwase referred us to NERC for an
official response.
“We are not responsible for tariff increase or decrease,
NERC is. We only carry out such directives from NERC,” she said in a response
note.
However, when The PUNCH contacted Sani, he declined to
respond to both calls and messages. A minor electricity tariff is slated to
hold every six months. The last review was carried out in December.