NERC denies approving new electricity tariff

By Ibrahim Adeleke

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has denied reports that it approved tariff increase in the power sector.

Chairman of the Commission, Sanusi Garba, told journalists on Friday that the electricity tariff is yet to be reviewed.

“I want to, on behalf of the management of NERC, clearly state that as of today, we have not approved any rate review and there is no indication that any electricity distribution company is increasing its tariff.

“If you notice that the rate you buy electricity has changed within the last one to three weeks, we want evidence. The information posted on the NERC website was the last tariff rate review in December 2021.

“Our function is to approve applications for tariffs for the distribution companies, and we have not received any,” he said.

Garba, however, noted that the Commission has a legal obligation to carry out minor reviews on tariff rates every six months.

“We have clearly said that we have an obligation by law to do minor review every six months to take care of inflation, forex and so on,” he said.

Commissioner, Market Competition and Rates of the NERC, Musiliu Oseni also told journalists that the Eligible Customers Regulation, which permits Generation Companies to sell power directly to some customers, was still in place.

“As of today, we have a few customers that have been approved as eligible customers pending the review of the necessary documentation of other customers,” Oseni said.

He also noted that some customers were yet to get approval owing to some challenges.

“Some of the customers that are yet to secure approval have some challenges, which include the inability of their potential generators to sell additional capacity to them.

“Under that framework, many of the generators had a contract with the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, and you cannot contract the same capacity twice,” he said.