NERC approves increase in Electricity tarrif

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved an increase in electricity tariff with effect from September 1, 2020.

The National Assembly had halted the tariff hike which was proposed about three months ago, and was expected to take effect from 1st of July.

It had also prevailed on the Discos to shelve the date to the first quarter of 2021 due to the current economic challenges in Nigeria.

The NERC however, recently released a document stipulating that all electricity customers, except those receiving less than 12 hours of supply, would have to pay more for electricity starting from September 1, 2020.

The document, further stated that the new tariff would be based on the hours of electricity supply available to the customers.

The document read: “Customers are categorised into maximum demand and non-maximum demand customers, as against the previous categories of residential, commercial and industrial customers, with different bands (A to E) depending on the level of supply”.

It also reveals that the hike would differ based on categories by the respective Discos;

For Ikeja Electric, a residential customer on single-phase receiving a minimum of 12 hours of supply will now pay N42.73 per KWh, up from N21.30 per kWh.

For Eko Electricity Distribution Company, a residential customer on single-phase receiving a minimum of 12 hours of supply will now pay N43.01 per kWh, up from N24 per kWh.

For Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, a residential customer on single-phase receiving between 12 to 16 hours of supply will now be charged N45.69 per KWh, up from N24.30 per kWh.

For Kaduna Electric, non-MD receiving between 12 and 16 hours will be charged N50.10 per KWh, adding that the tariffs for customers receiving less than 12 hours had been temporarily frozen.

NERC further stated that “Following consultations and directions on tariff policy, the commission hereby approves a deferment of the applicable tariffs for customers in service bands D and E (that is customers with a service commitment of less than an average of 12 hours supply per day over a period of one month) for the period September 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.”

It said the Discos would only be allowed to charge those customers the new tariffs upon investments that improve the quality of service experience, “thus migrating customers to higher service bands or another order of the commission.”