By Willy Okonji –
The Federal Government has announced plans to review electricity tariffs to address disparities in the current billing system and attract more investment into the power sector.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan.
Speaking on the slow pace of migration to Band A customers, Adelabu blamed the reluctance of Distribution Companies (DisCos) to invest in necessary infrastructure.
“The migration to Band A should have been faster, but we found out that the DisCos refuse to invest,” he said. “A lot of investment is required for us to achieve an accelerated migration of lower-band customers into Band A. It is taking a lot of time.”
Under the current tariff structure, Band B customers, who receive 18 to 17 hours of electricity daily, pay N63 per kilowatt-hour, while Band A customers, who get only two more hours of supply, are charged N209 per kilowatt-hour.
Describing this disparity as “unfair,” Adelabu stressed the need for a more equitable pricing system.
“The gap between the Band A tariffs and Bands B, C, D, and E is just too wide,” he noted. “We believe it’s not fair. It is not just, and we must be able to carry out some level of regularisation.”
While acknowledging the need for a tariff review, the minister clarified that this does not necessarily mean an increase in rates.
“We will look at the tariff again. I am not saying that we’re going to increase the tariff before I am misquoted,” he assured. “We are going to look at it and see how we can improve upon our modest achievement of last year, not only to ensure that we grow the sector that we need but also to ensure that we can invest more in revamping all these dilapidated infrastructures.”
The government is now considering restructuring the tariff bands, with a proposed system encompassing Bands A, B, and C to reduce the existing gap and ensure more balanced pricing.
