The Nigerian electricity regulatory authority has stated that the additional revenue generated from higher tariffs will be allocated towards enhancing the transmission infrastructure.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced a new electricity tariff that will affect around 15% of its customers, leading to an increase in the electricity price from N68 to N225 per kilowatt hour with immediate effect.
Musiliu Oseni, the Vice Chairman of the Market Competition Rate, made this announcement during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Oseni said, “The commission has approved a rate review of N225 per kilowatt hour for just under 15% of the customer population in NERC. So that means that less than 15% of the customers will be affected. And I’m sure you are aware of the number of customers we have in NERC, and these are the customers that have been proven to be enjoying 20 hours average of supply.
“Many of the customers previously classified as Band A customers will not be affected, only less than 15% of the customer population will be affected by this rate review.
“And the reason for this includes, first and foremost, when you look at the state of infrastructure in NERC, the quality of infrastructure in NERC varies from one location to another. There are certain locations where, without any additional investment, the distribution companies and also the transmission companies based on the investment previously made can deliver the minimum of 20 hours per day. But in some locations, there will be a need for improvement in quality of the infrastructure before quality of supply can improve.
“So, the customers that are going to be affected are the customers that are living in locations where no investment is required to meet the 20 hours service, and this constitutes less than 15% of the customer population.”