No Approval for 50% Tariff Hike Yet – NERC

• NERC says it has not approved the tariff order issued on the 31st of December, allowing for a 50 per cent hike in the rates for service bands A, B, C, D and E
• NERC is mandated by the EPSR Act to perform minor reviews of the tariff biannually.
• If approved, Consumers receiving less than 12 hours of supply daily.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has disavowed reports that it had approved a 50 per cent tariff hike. According to earlier reports from The Cable, NERC had approved the new tariff via an order issued on the 31st of December 2020 and took effect on the 1st of January 2021.

However, through their Twitter account (@NERCNG), the commission has stated that it has not approved the tariff increase. Hence, DisCos are still expected to bill consumers based on the ‘order on the transition to cost-reflective tariffs’, which last September.  

According to NERC, the tariff review was done in compliance with the provisions of the EPSR Act. NERC carry out minor reviews of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) biannually to determine if there has been any variation in the generation wholesale contract price fuel costs, inflation rate, US dollar exchange rate and Capex and Opex requirements f tariff calculation. Variation in these values will necessitate a recalculation of the tariff.

Under the reviewed tariff, the rates for service bands A, B, C, D and E have been adjusted by NGN2.00 to NGN4.00 per kWhr to reflect the partial impact of inflation & movement in forex. However, the tariff for customers on service bands D & E (customers being served less than an average of 12hrs of supply per day over a period of one month) remains frozen and subsidised in line with the FG’s policy direction, according to the Commission.

NERC also encourages any customer who has been impacted by any tariff increases beyond the above provision of the tariff Order to lay their complaints to the Commission at customer.complaints@nerc.gov.ng