The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC has denied receiving any directives mandating it to revert to the old electricity tariff by the House of Representatives.
Recall that on Tuesday, reports emerged that the House of Reps had directed NERC and the Distribution Companies, DisCos to reverse the electricity tariff hike imposed on Band ‘A’ customers.
NERC had on April 3, 2024, hiked the electricity tariff for the Band A customers. This group, the Commission said are those enjoying 20 hours of daily power supply.
The tariff hike, however, generated fury among Nigerian who condemned NERC for the development. Also, Nigerians electricity consumers who fall under the Band A category lamented the surge in their electricity bill.
The Band A consumers are paying N225 kilowatt per hour against the N66 they used to pay.
However, to address the concerns of Nigerians over the electricity tariff hike, the Green Chamber ordered NERC and DisCos to revert to the old tariff.
The directive came on the heels of the adoption of recommendations from the House Committee on Power, presented by Hon. Victor Nwokolo. The Committee had presented its findings to the House in a plenary chaired by Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
But fielding questions from journalists, the spokesperson for NERC, Usman Arabi, denied receiving any letter mandating to reversion. He stated that the Commission has not received official communication from the Representatives on the directive.
“We have not received official communication from the House on the directive. Usually, when there are resolutions, they will be communicated officially. But we are yet to receive the resolution.”
In a related development, some Federal universities in areas designated Band A by the Discos have been groaning under heavy electricity bills. This is even as students of the tertiary institutions have embarked on demonstrations to express their frustrations.
The universities have lamented that since NERC approved the 300 per cent increase in the tariff, electricity bills of their campuses have surged. A situation that has forced them to cough out between N80 million and N300 million monthly for electricity usage.
In a report by Sunday PUNCH, the Secretary-General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, bemoaned the development. He said the rise in the energy bills had affected operations of the universities.
“It does impact the operations of the universities. It is the way it impacts the operations of every organization. If there is a nearly 300 per cent rise in energy cost, it will affect our operations.” Ochefu said.
But the Executive Director of Research & Advocacy of the DisCos, Sunday Oduntan, blamed the hike on exchange rate and interest rate. He noted that these are major factors responsible for the electricity tariff hike.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, Oduntan stated that the recent increase in tariffs, particularly for Band A customers, is a result of the removal of subsidies.
source: PUNCH
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