- NERC to carry out a minor tariff review every six months.
- The review will reflect the country’s economic state.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said it would conduct a minor tariff review every six months to reflect the economic situation in the country. This, it noted, is due to the variation between the local currency (naira) and other major international currencies, especially the United States dollar.
NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba, explained that the minor tariff review approved for the Distribution Companies (DisCos) was in line with the tariff methodology adopted by NERC for periodic adjustments of tariffs based on inflation, exchange rates and gas pricing.
“We will adjust the rate every six months to cover the foreign exchange component of costs and inflation. This is a very straightforward thing,” Garba said.
Debunking the insinuation that the Commission was implementing tariff review in secrecy, Garba added a caveat that while the review “might not necessarily be an upward review,” the country’s foreign exchange rate has maintained an upward path as the naira is being devalued. Inflation, he said, has also remained on the high side.
He further revealed that discussions are on to bring new gas plants on the grid to address the shortfall currently being witnessed in the grid.