Hike In Electricity Tariff: Not Yet!

Next in line to 2015 general elections
in Nigeria, no issue of urgent
national importance has been central to public discourse or commentary by highly perceptible Nigerians or even by the most casual observers – than the power sector issues.
And while electricity consumers across the country continue to groan over the epileptic power supply from Distribution Companies (DISCOs), the Federal Government and indeed, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) already appear to be thinking differently on the issue.
If the posturing of the Federal Government is anything to go by, electricity tariff should go up in Nigeria with effect from December 1, 2014.
In fact, the NERC had on November 20, said that consumers would pay more for electricity when the new price of gas for generating power would take effect.
NERC’s Vice Chairman, Mohammed Bello, had explained that the price of gas, inflation, foreign exchange rate and power generation capacity were some of the factors considered before proposing  the tariff review.
At a time when citizens hardly get regular supply of electricity and when many homes are still in darkness, coupled with the many challenges the economy is posing to the citizenry, the proposal cannot get public approbation.
It is true that the upward review of the tariff had been on the table for long and the justification for it can hardly be controverted, its impact on the greater percentage of the people, who currently labour under the present rate cannot be over looked.
Albeit, we are also aware of the vandalisation of power installations and the profit needs of the new investors, the Nigerian consumer has been on the losing side of the electricity arrangement for ages, and while the companies should not expect to make gains now, just a little push can throw the ordinary man off balance.
Worse still, the generality of the people are still in darkness and are still paying for electricity they are not consuming, even as the DISCOS are also not playing by the rules. The provision of pre-paid metres is still an issue, while the rule of fixed charges is being observed in the breach.
The Tide is worried that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is no where in the picture as the discos do anything they so wish and make people pay to meet the revenue targets of the firms rather than make the Nigerian consumer get value for the charges.
While we expect Nigerians to contribute to the growth of public power supply in  the country, we think that it is critical to understand the burden of the populace, assuage their feelings and ultimately earn their confidence.
Stakeholders believe that if these measures are not taken, government would have made mockery of its avowed commitment to the restoration of constant power supply and the welfare of the people.
As it is, compelling consumers to pay more for the epileptic power supply may result in a round of protests across the country; a situation which government would not want to contend with at the moment.
What the government should have done in the first instance was to squarely address the poor power situation by improving capacity, especially the non-availability of pre-paid metres before deciding to increase tariff. This is the only way out now.