The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved new Extraordinary Tariff Review applications, 5-year Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and Capital Expenditure, CAPEX, for the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) with effect from July 1, 2021, to June 30 2026.
This is coming against the backdrop of an earlier statement by the Minister for Power, Sale Mamman, who said that there will not be a significant tariff increase.
According to media reports, the order from NERC which was issued on Sunday to the different DisCos and signed by NERC Chairman, Mr Sanusi Garba, and Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Mr Dafe Akpeneye, was about applications for extraordinary tariff review, Performance Improvement Plans, and capital expenditure for the next 5 years, beginning from July 1 this year.
In the order to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc (IKEDC), the NERC said: “This regulatory instrument may be cited as NERC Order on PIP and Extraordinary Tariff Review Application for Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc (IKEDC).’’
The NERC document said, IKEDC just like the other DISCOs, applied for the Commission in November 2019 for a review of the provisions for CAPEX in its Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO, tariffs to support the implementation of its PIP over the next five years.
The order noted, “Under the Power Sector Recovery Program, PSRP, it is envisaged that the commission would implement a robust tariff review process aiming at improving performance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI.
“This process involved a review of CAPEX allowances in MYTO model compliance with PIPs of the DISCOs.
“The approved PIP and Extraordinary Tariff Application shall form the basis for IKEDC to prioritise the implementation of the proposed CAPEX initiatives.
“The approved PIPs shall also form the basis for defining Key Performance Index for IKEDC for the next five years by the Commission with an emphasis on improvement in energy throughout and improving service delivery to customers.”
IKEDC proposed to undertake numerous interventions to improve service delivery to customers as it hopes to increase the total energy supplied across IKEDC from the 2019 levels of 4,469Gwh/year to 5,263GWh/year by December 2022.
For the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, the company proposed to undertake numerous interventions to improve service delivery to the customers. Over the next five years, the proposed interventions will allow AEDC to achieve substantial improvement in service delivery but not limited to the following:
“Reduce ATC & C losses from the current level of 45 per cent to 19 per cent over 5 years
“Achieve 100 per cent metering of customers by installing 698,606 meters over 3years + Improve customer safety and reduce inadvertent accidents “Increase number of new customers from the current level of 1,214,259 to 3,450,695 over 5 years.’’
Government should please OUTLAW consistent use of Estimated-Billing if good progress in the industry is desirable.