Business
Electricity: Consumers Disagree Over Increased Bill
A cross section of Nigerians has kicked against the claim by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) that the increased electricity bills by power distribution companies was due to stability in power supply in the past three months.
Some of the electricity consumers who spoke to our correspondent said the claim was not all encompassing.
According to Boniface Madume, a welder, who spoke to our correspondent, the NERC was economical with the truth.
He said not every section has been receiving electricity as claimed.
Madume said so long as the estimated billing system was still on going, there was no way the increased tariff could be justified.
For Blessing Uzo, who operates a cold room in Port Harcourt, the explanation by NERC should not be a yard stick for the increased billing.
She explained to our correspondent that a lot of electricity consumers do not have metres in their houses and wondered why the increase should be justified, adding that electricity officials do not even read metres in the first place.
Uzo claimed that she has been paying her electricity bills as at when due, yet bills sent to her have not been stable even as she said there has not been any marked improvement in electricity supply to her company.
However, Mr Nelson Obiozor, who runs a mini shopping centre explained that metering should be done according to consumption to enable users of electricity know the amount due them for payment ever before bills arrive.
Power generation in the country hit an all-time high of 5,80.7 megawatts on August 25, 2015. Prior to this peak generation Nigeria’s electricity generation had hovered between 3,000MW and 3,500MW for years, Our correspondent gathered.
In the past two months, power consumers, especially those on estimated billing had repeatedly complained that they were being over billed by electricity distribution companies.
Although, according to investigations by our correspondent, the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, has stated that he was aware of the complaints, he explained that the marginal stability in power supply necessitated the increase in bills.
He, however, noted that electricity tariffs had not changed and added that customers who paid bills that were calculated based on illegal rates should contact the commission.
An indigenous survey firm NOIPOLLS, in its latest report for the third quarter of 2015 released last week had stated that power supply across the country has improved.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
