Nigeria Increases Electricity Tariff By Over 50% again
Barely two months after the Federal Government of Nigeria implemented a much opposed hike in November 2020, it has again increased the tariff by over 50% in the new year.
According to a revised Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) signed by Engr. Sanusi Garba, the new Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, on December 30, 2020, and sighted Tuesday, the new tariff increase took effect on January 1, 2021, and supersedes the previous Order NERC/2028/2020.
The commission said in the new Order NERC/225/2020, it considered the 14.9% inflation rate rise in November 2020, foreign exchange of N379.4/$1 as of December 29, 2020, available generation capacity, US inflation rate of 1.22% and the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the power firms to raise the tariff.
The rates payable by all classes of electricity users in the revised Service Based Tariff (SBT) was increased, unlike the one of November 2020, that exempted low power getters.
This is effective till June 2021 while a Cost Reflective Tariff (CRT) expected to raise the new cost higher will be activated from June to December 2021, the NERC Order revealed.
In December 2020, NERC had notified that it had begun a review for another tariff, which has been completed and had taken effect from January 1, 2021.
Tariff for the DisCos was raised in September by the commission but that drew outrages from customers and the organised labour, prompting the federal government to suspend it while parties dialogued.
By November 1, 2020, after some discounts were given for customers who get 12 hours and above power supply daily, the suspended tariff was then implemented.
Those with less than 12 hour supply, however did not get a tariff hike, according to the NERC order of November 2020
