ELECTRICITY TARIFF: SENATE TEMPORARILY STEPS DOWN ADOPTION OF REPORT DEMANDING SUSPENSION OF IMPLEMENTATION
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A report that asked the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to halt the multi-year tariff order (MYTO), 2024—which authorised a 200% increase in prices from N68/kWh to N225/kWh—was temporarily withdrawn from adoption by the Senate.
The Senate decided to permit extensive customer consultation on the various bands of service costs.
The suspension occurred shortly after Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe submitted an investigative report on behalf of the Committee on Power regarding the projected rise in electricity tariffs and the necessity of stopping distribution companies’ proposed increases in light of Nigeria’s current economic circumstances.
To prevent a recurrence of the confusion and public outcry that followed the most recent tariff increase, the committee recommended in the 46-page report that NERC ensure full compliance with the mandatory requirement of stakeholder consultation under Section 48 of the Electricity Act, 2023, regarding future regulatory decisions.
The paper suggests that NERC should take action to tackle power scarcity in a comprehensive manner instead of focusing on price manipulation, which has been shown to be ineffective.
The majority of lawmakers stated in the heated debate that the suggestions ought to be adopted immediately.
However, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim and Senator Titus Zam, the chairman of the Senate committee on rules and business, expressed disapproval of the adoption.
They claimed that the issue should be dropped, citing an ongoing legal dispute that made it necessary to put a temporary stop to more discussion of the report.
On May 3, a Federal High Court granted an order prohibiting the Kano Energy Distribution Company and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission from enacting the new Band A customer energy pricing.
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