The Federal Government said it plans to regularise electricity tariffs of Bands B and C customers to ensure a more efficient and reliable power sector.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said this at the Public Presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan in Abuja on Thursday.
The ministry put the document in place with the support from UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF).
In the current structure, customers in Band B, who enjoy 18 to 17 hours of electricity supply pay N63 per kilowatt-hour.
Those in Band A, with only two hours more of supply, are charged N209 per kilowatt-hour
Mr Adelabu said that in 2024, the power sector adopted a cost reflective tariff for a portion of electricity consumers about 15 per cent, noting that it might look small but it is a way forward.
He said, “It was a pilot and a proof of concept which I believe it worked for the people that are enjoying 20 to 24 hours of electricity supply in a day and are happy. They are satisfied in spite of the fact that they are paying N209 per kilowatt-hour as they believe they are better off than when using generators. We believe that as we continue to work on revamping our distribution and transmission infrastructure, more and more people will be migrated to Band A.’’
Mr Adelabu also said that as a result of the migration of some customers to Band A, the power sector recorded a 70 per cent growth in its revenue from N1.05 trillion in 2024 to about N1.7 trillion.
The minister said: “We will look at the tariff again. I am not saying that we’re going to increase the tariff before I am misquoted. We are going to look at the tariff and see how we can improve on our modest achievement of 2024 not only to grow the sector revenue. But to also ensure that we are able to invest more in revamping the dilapidated infrastructure in the power sector so that they can carry the kind of reliable electricity we envisage for the power sector. We thought the migration of Band B and C customers will be faster that this but the Electricity distribution Companies (DisCos) have refused to invest in the power sector.’’
According to him, much investment was required to achieve accelerated migration of lower-band customers into Band A.
He said that the regularisation of the tariff Band B and C customers to Band A would be done at a slow pace.
(NAN)
