Following the recent upward review of electricity tariffs by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerians have expressed shock, saying the recent increment is coming at a time the citizens are faced with numerous economic challenges.
Nigerians since the inception of this administration have been faced with a harsh economic situation following the removal of fuel subsidy which led to changes in the price of transportation, then a series of monetary policies, making foodstuff very expensive.
As the Naira continued to appreciate in the parallel market, Nigerians were optimistic that the prices of food would reduce. However, the NERC increased the electricity tariff, thereby compounding the existing problem.
In the new tariff, electricity consumers were categorized into Bands. Band A are consumers who enjoy 20 hours of electricity a day and above, Band B are consumers who enjoy 16 hours of electricity per day and above, Band C are consumers who gets12 hours of power per day and above, while Band D and E are consumers who enjoy 8 and 4 hours power per day and above respectively.
According to Ikechukwu Amah, an Abuja resident, those categorized under Band A do not enjoy 20 hours of power supply daily.
“The government is all for raising money at all costs. Like it was with PMS and subsidy, so it is turning out with electricity and subsidy. They ought to have carried out massive reforms, improving quality and quantity, before adjusting tariffs slowly.
“There’s no justification whatsoever for raising the electricity tariff by 300%. The worst part of this move is that over 50% of those who have been categorized into band A do not receive up to 20 hours of power supply every day”, Amah said.
Frank Eneh said before the electricity tariff is increased, there should be an 80 per cent power supply for over 90 days.
“I am not against tariff review, but electricity must be available at an uptime of 80% per cent over a 90-day period before any upward tariff is carried out. Now an upward review by Discos is like rewarding perennial failure”.
Ralph Eberechukwu Edeh, while sharing his thoughts, said “Energy is the number one thing that cuts across all endeavours of life. For investors and industries to function perfectly well, and for farmers and producers to get produce across all cities and markets, energy is the determinant factor of their prices. What about the use of it at home? Everything is energy.
“Then, why has the government chosen to frustrate those areas? Why has the government chosen to remove the fuel subsidy and are still targeting all forms of alternative energy when they’ve not even done anything to provide a conducive environment to test-run sources of revenue before making an increment?