The Nigerian government has barely two months after the implementation of a controversial tariff increase, approved an increase in electricity tariff payable by electricity consumers in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, approved over 50 percent hike in electricity tariff payable by customers of the 11 Distribution Companies, DisCos.
According to reports, a Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) signed by the new Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, on December 30, 2020, shows the new tariff increase took effect as at January 1, 2021.
This new increment which is coming barely two months after the implementation of the controversial hike proposed last year is said to supersede the previous Order NERC/2028/2020, PREMIUM TIMES understands.
In the new order, NERC said it considered the “…14.9% inflation rate rise in November 2020, foreign exchange of N379.4/$1 as of December 29, 2020, available generation capacity, US inflation rate of 1.22% and the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the power firms to raise the tariff…”
The revised Service Based Tariff (SBT) also saw increase in the rates payable by all classes of electricity users unlike the earstwhile order implemented in 2020, which exempted low power consumers.
The order is effective till June 2021 while a Cost Reflective Tariff (CRT) expected to raise the new cost higher will be activated from June to December 2021.
Last December, NERC announced that it had begun a review of the new tariff.
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