According to a press statement signed on Saturday by the Speaker, Dr Azeezat Yishawu, and titled “Increase customer reach not tariff’, the Parliament lamented the possible effect on the everyday youth struggling with current realities.
She disclosed that, unlike fuel subsidy removal, increased electricity tariffs have direct consequences for every person, business, and other key sectors.
Yishawu’s statement partly read, “The proposed Electricity tariff increase by NERC will further tip the social-economic lives of the majority of Nigerians to the edge. Unlike subsidy removal, Electricity has a direct impact on every sector of the country, from small businesses to giant production companies, the Health sector, Education, and agriculture, especially in the processing and storage chain, to mention a few.
“As of 2020, only about 50 percent of Nigerians have access to some sort of electricity; mind you, this does not mean adequate regular power. In 2006, a Prepaid metre was introduced to aid revenue collection and discard estimated bill system however, after 17 years with trillions of naira in investment, purchase, and distribution of these metres by NERC through its various programmes, is yet to provide prepaid metres to no more than 5 million Nigerians.
“According to NERC, only about 10 million Nigerians were registered customers in 2022, and about 5 million were using the prepaid metre. Despite claims by the government to ensure access to prepaid metres through the Metre Asset Providers programme, many Nigerians are still frustrated and exploited by the estimated billing system.
This Year alone, many Nigerians who have requested this metre still face challenges due to ambiguous delivery systems carried out by Distribution companies coupled with the long waiting periods and technical issues that prevent customers from using metres when purchased.
The Speaker urged NERC on the distribution of metres, stressing that it would genuinely increase profit for the government as more people would be brought into the tariff net.
“If the NERC is concerned about generating revenue, it should rather ensure and facilitate procurement and the actual delivery of prepaid metres to Nigerians and increase the number of people who are registered under the agency rather than be a cause of calamity to the Nigerian people. By ensuring this, the agency can increase its revenue while ensuring fairness rather than choking 10 million Nigerians who are on their database and allowing for fraudulent bill estimates. Nigerians should also be fully aware that this proposed action is not necessarily the only available option to NERC as the agency itself is not efficient in its mandate to provide nationwide access to electricity. It will be wise for NERC to discard the tariff increase as a means of increasing revenue,” Yishawu’s statement added.
The Parliament also called on relevant organisations to take advantage of the recent assent of the Electricity Act, adding that such would yield the needed development.
“Also, in the wake of the new Electricity Act signed by the president, which allows states to generate their electricity, NERC, and other related agencies, should deploy strategies that will encourage state licensing to companies that can provide electricity. This will promote what I call the electricity market, where one can subscribe to any electricity-providing company based on preference, just like you have for Airtime network, cable TV subscriptions, as well as your favourite gadget company. Further Engagement with this potential investor can help with the distribution of Prepared metres to new ccustomers,just like anyone who is subscribing to cable TV will have a decoder. This method will be quite effective as service providers can be responsible for their market area which is usually within a state and can pay for the number of prepared metres purchased from the government.
“Finally, this act alone will provide healthy competition to an already monopolised electricity distribution sector, no more turning off the light grid to drive home an argument,” the statement added.
