The Trade Union Congress (TUC), electricity company workers, and consumers have described as ‘negligible,’ the 8.1 per cent reduction in the tariff paid by Band A customers.
They called for a reversal of the tariff announced last month by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for Band A customers, saying there should not be segregation of electricity users.
The House of Representatives and Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) Chief Executive Officer Muda Yusuf, however, described the review as a step in the right direction.
NERC, which is the regulator of the nation’s electricity sector, had in a statement yesterday directed the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country to reduce Band A tariff from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh for this month.
The DisCos immediately started complying with the order which NERC explained was primarily informed by the stability of the Naira against foreign currencies.
However, there was an uproar over the adjustments from different quarters.
Yesterday, TUC, which is the umbrella body of senior workers, said the pre-April tariff of N66/KWh should be restored while NERC engages with stakeholders .
“Our ultimatum was very clear: revert to the old N66/KKWh not to reduce. Because the Electricity Act is very clear there should be stakeholders’ engagement. That was not done.
“ NERC has to revert to the old tariff and let there be stakeholders’ engagement in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act. So reducing it is unacceptable to us,” said TUC’s Deputy President Tommy Okon.
Also, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) Ag. General Secretary Dominic Igwebike, said: ‘’We are asking for total reversal of the tariff for band A customers.’’
“To us as electricity workers, there should be no discriminatory tariff for Nigerians,” he added in a text message.
Consumers under the aegis of the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA), argued that the new rate of N206.80/kwh “does not make any difference.’’
