The Federal Government has said that Nigeria ranks lowest in electricity tariff payment among the countries in West Africa.
Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, stated this during a working visit to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) in Lagos at the weekend.
The Minister, however, said Nigerians were willing to pay more if they see improvements in service delivery, especially improved power supply.
Though, according to technext24.com which ranked 10 countries with cheapest electricity tariff in Africa, Nigerian households pay $0.03 per kilowatt-hour for electricity, which is relatively low compared to other African countries.
The Minister added that the country has fixed a three-year timeline (2027) as the date for the removal of electricity subsidy to households and commercial users.
Effective from that date, Nigerians should be ready to pay more for electricity as the Federal Government begins the effective implementation of a cost reflective tariff.
He stressed the need for collaboration among all stakeholders in the electricity supply chain and said everyone involved in making electricity should work together to set a fair price.
Adelabu assured Nigerians that the ongoing power upgrade and investment in power sector would improve electricity supply within the next three to six months.
He disclosed that upgrading some substations in Lagos by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had commenced on 30MVA transformers to 100 MVA and 205 MVA in Maryland and Alausa, respectively.
He said that investment across Distribution Companies (DisCos) was low due to the unavailability of funds to carry out infrastructure upgrades, appealing to the companies to ensure good service delivery to justify tariff review.
He said the ministry would do all it could to ensure that DisCos up their games through massive investment, noting, “if that fails, it will resort to legal backing.”
Adelabu bemoaned the rising cases of vandalism of power assets across the country, recommending capital punishment for vandals.
He labelled vandals of power assets as “killers of people and saboteurs of business growth”.
“We need scapegoats. We are ready to give them the right punishment in terms of prosecution.
“Punishment for vandals should go beyond six months jail term. Capital punishment should be meted out for power vandals. They kill people, and they kill businesses,” he said.
Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in January 2024, approved new electricity tariffs for the 11 distribution companies (DisCos) in the country.
The NERC chairman, Sanusi Garba, who disclosed assured that customers would continue to pay the current tariffs as the Federal Government would subsidise the new tariffs to the tune of N1.6 trillion throughout the year.
Garba said the Federal Government would continue to subsidise electricity to ease the financial burden on Nigerians due to economic challenges the nation faces.
NERC also approved a monthly tariff review of the DisCos, arising from changes in the inflation rates, Naira/US dollar exchange rates, and gas-to-power prices.
Before now, the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) allowed for bi-annual minor tariff reviews while major tariff reviews were planned every five years.
According to Garba, the government has decided to continue subsidising electricity for now, following the rising cost of living.
“In the new tariff order just published by the commission, you will discover that the tariff is not going up but will see what the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) should be charging.
