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NERC Rules Out Arbitrary Electricity Tariffs Hike, Says Public Will Be Consulted

Published

4 years ago

January 6, 2020

The Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), James Momoh, has ruled out any arbitrary process of hike in electricity tariffs, saying that the public is to be consulted within the next three months to generate their inputs.

He explained that the Commission merely made a review of tariffs, which effective implementation would be a product of nationwide consultations with the relevant stakeholders.

Momoh spoke at pre-event press conference on the forth coming International Conference on “Energy, Power Systems Operations and Planning” scheduled in Abuja later this month.

According to Momoh, “If I may tell you my mind set on this, let me just say it that there is no immediate increase in tariff for customers. Go back and read that document. The proposed tariff review is what we are mandated to do as a regulator. We are to do it twice a year.

“We’ve done the first one around June. January is here and we have no other option than to do our job. We have done the review and it is subject to public consultation.”

“In the next three months, the entire commissioners and myself will be running from place to place to inform you, to update you for consultation. So there will be consultation. We have done our review and have given a report on what we saw based on all the indices for doing a review.

“We have not said it is binding tomorrow morning, rather we are going to now do the consultations. The order is simply a communication of what we have done as a regulator, looking at what it takes to increase or decrease tariffs.”

“If at the end of our back and forth meetings we say no increase, there will be no increase. If there is going to be increase it will be based on our engagement at the public forum.

“We will talk to all the customers, whether is MAN (Manufacturers Association of Nigeria), whether residential customers. I am a customer too and I don’t want an increase without negotiations, of course, with the AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company).

“As a customer we pay our bills and if they suddenly change it I need to know why and how it was done. It has to be good for everybody. And don’t forget, service must also improve.”

On his part, the NERC commissioner, Frank Okafor, explained that the regular tariffs review is a statutory mandate of the Commission which however did imply increase.

He said, “This review is an internal process between participants in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and the regulator (NERC)” .

The explanations were prompted by the uproar already generated upon the release of the tariff review report by the Commission.