By Aisi Atiti
On the first of this month, electricity consumers across the nation saw their tariff increase with some seeing as much as a 50 per cent increase. The new tariffs approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is supposed to reflect the quality of service currently received by consumers from their respective Distribution Companies (DisCos). The Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) regime will see the tariff of consumers who receive at least 12 hours of electricity supply daily go up. What does this mean if you fall under this category? Well, higher electricity bills.
Consumer affordability has been cited as a contributing factor that helped shelve previous attempts at tariff increase. The current liquidity crisis in the sector coupled with the lack of funds for electricity subsidy payments has made the increase necessary. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic already helped consumers avoid earlier deadlines for tariff increases as well as influenced the adoption of the new SRT regime to ensure that only those who are supplied more get to pay more. With many Nigerians likely to feel the impact of the pandemic in the months to come, consumers would agree that there is a need to reduce bill payments. One way to do this would be to significantly reduce energy usage.
Energy Efficiency to the Rescue
Adopting an energy-efficient lifestyle can reduce your energy use considerably. The most prominent way to conserve energy is by reducing your load/demand. There are simple ways to reducing your energy demand. The easiest is identifying the appliances you use and reducing their energy use. Unplug and turn off rarely use/not in use appliances. Always turn off lightbulbs, fans and air conditioners when leaving a room. Unplug electronics when they are fully charged. Chose a certain day to do your laundry and ironing. Start ironing with fabrics that require the lowest temperature and proceed until you get to the fabrics that need the most heat – this will save you time and energy.
Another way to cut down on energy use is by replacing old appliances with energy-efficient models. Energy-efficient appliances can be identified by the energy star label on them and can help reduce your energy use by as much as 75%.
It is apparent that the tariff increase is here to stay and would likely go up as the market moves towards a cost-reflective tariff. So the best thing we as consumers can do is adopt simple changes that will ensure electricity bills don’t put a dent in our finances.