Nigerians should brace for a fresh hike in electricity tariffs, as the federal government prepares to implement the increase “over the next few months.”
This move is aimed at transitioning the country’s electricity sector to a cost-efficient, cost-reflective tariff system that can attract private investments, according to President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen.
Speaking at the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Verheijen highlighted the government’s strategy to balance the tariff increase with subsidies for less-affluent users. “One of the key challenges we’re looking to resolve is transitioning to a cost-efficient but cost-reflective tariff. This way, we can generate the revenue needed to attract private capital, while protecting the poor and vulnerable,” Verheijen said.
This tariff hike comes on the heels of a previous threefold increase approved last year for customers in the Band A classification. As the country faces mounting pressure from debt-laden electricity distribution companies, the new hike is seen as necessary to improve their finances and enable better service delivery.
Nigeria is also pushing for a $32 billion plan to expand electricity connections by 2030, a step toward addressing the country’s energy deficit.
