The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved a tariff hike for customers falling under the Band A classification.
According to Musliu Oseni, the Vice Chairman of NERC, customers in this category will now pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the current N66 rate. Band A customers are those who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
Oseni mentioned during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday that customers in Band A constitute 15 percent of the 12 million electricity customers nationwide.
He also noted that the commission had downgraded some customers from Band A to Band B due to the electricity distribution company’s failure to meet the required hours of power supply.
According to Oseni, “We currently have 800 feeders that are categorised as Band A, but it will now be reduced to under 500. This means that 17 per cent now qualify as Band A feeders. These feeders only service 15 per cent of total electricity customers connected to the feeders.
“The commission has issued an order which is titled ‘April Supplementary Order’ and the commission allows a 235 kilowatt per hour.”
He clarified that this review would not impact customers in other bands.
Reports from Bloomberg on Tuesday indicated that power companies would now be permitted to increase electricity prices to N200 ($0.15) per kilowatt-hour from the previous N68 rate for urban consumers.
According to sources within the presidency cited by the news agency, this move aims to attract new investments and reduce the approximately $2.3 billion spent to cap tariffs.
