The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has given the green light for a substantial increase of 300% in electricity tariff for Band A consumers in the country.
The Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, made this announcement in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Oseni, “Power distribution companies (DisCos) will be allowed to raise electricity prices to N225 ($0.15) per kilowatt-hour from N68 for urban consumers this month effectively from April 1, 2024.”
He further revealed that this rate increase will only impact 15% of the electricity customers in the country, who also happen to consume 40% of the nation’s electricity.
The decision to raise the tariffs nearly threefold within weeks is part of Nigeria’s strategy to attract new investment into the energy sector and reduce the substantial $2.3 billion annual expenditure on electricity subsidies.
Since the privatisation of its generation and distribution sectors in 2013, Nigeria has regulated electricity tariffs through the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
