By Ismail Auwal
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has secretly approved tariff increases for six out of the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) without informing Nigerians.
The new tariff took effect in February 2022 according to NERC memo joint signed by Sanusi Garba, and the vice chairman Musiliu Oseni.
The regulator claimed that its decision was necessary due to an increase in the performance of the DISCOs’ improvement plans.
Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company are the companies (KEDC).
Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) are among the others.
Before raising the tariff, NERC stated that it considered other factors such as gas price, inflation, exchange rate, and available generation capacity.
The document said consumers who bought power at N50.72/kWh in January 2022 were to pay N54.22/kWh from February.
Those who bought at N56.16/kWh in January 2022 were to pay N60.67/kWh, while those who paid N56.64/kWh in January 2022 were made to pay N59.64/kWh.
“Consequently, following the approval of PHED’s PIP on 30th April 2021, the Commission issued the MYTO-2021 Extraordinary Tariff Order effective from 1st July 2021 in consideration on PHED’s CAPEX proposals over a 5-year plan in line with the approved PIP,” the document said.
“Accordingly, this MYTO-2022 order restates PHED’s approved 5-year CAPEX and relevant assumptions applied to forecast revenue requirements and applicable tariffs for the period 2021-2026 in line with MYTO Methodology and Regulations Procedure for Electricity Tariff Reviews in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” it said.
