The Federal Government through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has approved an upward review in electricity tariff.
NERC Chairman Sanusi Garba, who broke the news in Abuja, said it would cost the government between N120 billion to N130 billion monthly (N1.6 trillion) to subsidise electricity this year.
Asked for how long the government will pay the subsidy, Garba said: “Any time the government decides on a subsidy, we will consider it in our next tariff.
“In other words, even if there is an upward review of the cost of electricity, the government will be absorbing the increase for as long as it can.”
The Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) took effect on January 1.
According to the NERC, non-maximum demand (MD), customers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) band will retain the N68.20 per kilowatt tariff.
The review has affected the cost-reflective tariff for the bad, which was N88.47 in 2023 but is now N124.42 this year, indicating an N35.95 increase per kw. It means that the government has subsidised N35.95 for consumers in the category.
Under the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) band, non-maximum demand (MD) customers, who paid N67.48 last year, will still pay the same price this year. However, their cost-reflective tariff has moved from N89.03 last year to N114.84 this year. This indicates a subsidy of N25.81 per kw.
Garba, however, explained that the cost of a kilowatt of electricity differs from one Electricity Distribution Company (DisCo) to the other, owing to their economic peculiarities.
