Consumers Reject Proposed Hike Of Electricity Tariff

The moves by the country’s 11 Distribution Companies (DISCOs), to increase energy tariff by 46 per cent is not going down well with electricity consumers.
The Tide gathers that the 11 DISCOs across the country wants the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Committee (NERC) to grant them approved to raise power tarrif by about 46, but the request has generated reactions from  Electricity Consumers.
In  a swift reaction to the moves, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress have rejected the planned tarrif increase on the ground that service delivery in the electricity sector is dismal.
The leadership of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress at the National level, berated the DISCOs over the planned hike, insisting that they must improve their services to justify any increase in tarrif.
Some electricity consumers in Rivers, who reacted to the planned increase said the move was exploitative.
A cold room operator in Port Harcourt, Mr Stephen Amadi, said, the planned increase was unnecessary at the moment.
Amadi, who spoke with The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt, last Friday, adviced the DISCOs to improve their services to build confidence in their customers.
He said, he  ran his business on a high cost of private power generation, yet he receives fabulous electricity bills on monthly basis.
Another customer, Mrs Pauline Oko, a restaurant owner also frowned at the planned hike in electricity tarrif. She said the plan was annoying as regular electricity supply remains a major problem in Nigeria. She called on relevant authorities to regulate the system properly and save Nigerians from exploitation.
In his response, a Port Harcourt-based business man, Mr Mark Akponi, called on the Government  to suspend any move by the DISCOs, to increase electricity tarrif. He said electricity users are eager to see visible improvement on power supply not increase in tarrif.
The DISCOs are, however, arguing that the current plan to hike electricity tarrif is in line with the Federal Governments’   Power Sector Recovery Plan (PSRP), a policy formulated in March this year by the office of the Vice President and the World Bank Group.
According to the Policy, which already has an implementation committee headed by the Special Assistant to the President on power, Damilola Ogunbiyi, “the federal government plans to recover the $76 billion fund by raising the present tarrif outline in the Multi-Year Tarrif Order (MYTO) 2015”.

Taneh Beemene