PHED Begins Public Consultation On Extraordinary Tariff Review

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc has concluded arrangement to host public consultation with its customers in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states ahead of the proposed tariff review that is expected to take off by April 1, 2020.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had announced an increment in electricity bills, following complaints by the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) that the current tariff do not reflect market realities.
The Manager, Corporate Communications, PHED, John Onyi, in a statement said that various dates have been chosen in the company’s franchise area starting from February 29, 2020 in Calabar; March 6, 2020 in Uyo, March 12, 2020 in Port Harcourt and March 20, 2020  in Yenagoa.
“Public consultation on proposed tariff review with effect from April 1,2020 under the Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO, in line with the directive of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, will be held across PHED’s coverage area,” Onyi said.
A Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO,  is a framework for regulating the licensees [ Discos ] over a period of time by NERC, which was  reviewed in 2015 based on exchange rate, gas pricing, inflation rate and generation capacity.
The public consultation will feature presentation on the business life cycle before privatization, achievements and challenges of post privatization and future investments in correlation with the tariff review.
It will also afford customers the opportunity of interacting and eliciting feedback from PHED management team and officials from the NERC.
The planned tariff review, according to the statement, when effected, would aid network expansion and rehabilitation, improved customers’ satisfaction, reduction in complaints, increase in power availability, elimination of estimated bill through proper metering, among others.
He, therefore, urged customers to avail themselves and be part of the success story in driving the electricity industry to greater heights through meaningful insights.

By: Taneh Beemene&Bariiye Eleso