Nigerians will start paying more on electricity supply as the Federal Government plans to boost power supply.
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, said the hike was inevitable due to the rising cost of electricity generation in Nigeria.
According to Mamma, improvement in electricity supply necessitated the need to increase the electricity tariffs. Already, there is ongoing tariff reform in the power sector for the eleven power Distribution Companies (DisCos), The Nation reported. The sector has also initiated the ‘willing buyers and willing sellers’ policy to cater for stranded power not supplied due to failed distribution chain.
The power sector in Nigeria was privatised in 2013 and the supply of the electricity was divided into several categories: six generation companies; 12 distribution companies covering all 36 Nigerian states, and a national power transmission company. This was done to improve electricity in the country; however, the situation has remained the same.
Nigeria’s electricity problem: Mamma said electricity supply in the country was being affected by cost-ineffective tariff. He stated that it was a drawback on the operation of the energy distributors. So, if electricity supply was to improve, there’s need for procurement of needed equipment that would reflect on the electricity tariff.
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Mamma, who disclosed that efforts were ongoing to improve power supply to the Northern part of the country, also said there’s need to ensure customers pay tariffs relative to their consumption of electricity, as specified by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The power generating (Gencos) firms are owed N1.3 trillion by the power distribution companies (DisCos) and other agencies.
“As part of efforts to improve supply of power to the Northern part of the country, a new 330 KVA line is about to be installed by the government. This, among other projects, would improve supply of electricity in Nigeria. With the improvement in power supply, the increase in tariffs in the country was inevitable, because the cost of generating electricity must be met by the operators.”