Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, has given condition under which hiked electricity tariff will be reduced.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday, he said the N225 kilowatt being paid by electricity consumers on Band A will drop if the exchange rate falls below N1,000 to a dollar.
He said stable power supply is the drive behind the increase in the tariff.
“The tariff is flexible. I can tell you if the naira gains more and the exchange rate comes down below N1,000 to a dollar, it must positively affect the tariff; and the tariff, even for Band A, will come down below the N225/KWh that we are currently charging.”
“There are variable factors that go into the composition of the tariff, and we are not closing our eyes to it. We are publishing it, we are transparent, we are talking to Nigerians and all the power sector stakeholders. This administration is very serious, and we are committed to transforming the sector,” Adelabu said.
Adelabu added that consultations were made before tariff hike, adding that the process would continue.
“We had wide consultations before we arrived at increasing the tariff. There are many stakeholders in the power sectors including the power sector operators, the generating companies, transmission companies, the Discos and the customers and the workers.”
“If you have been following my activities in the last six months since I assumed duty as minister, I have been doing this consistently. There was the need to review the subsidy ratio to look at how we can arrive at a middle ground whereby customers need to sacrifice, while the government continues with the subsidy of the consumers. That was the consultation before we finally arrived at the increase.
“After the review was announced, we continue to engage stakeholders in the power sector to make them understand the reason why we want to sustain the industry and the operators to be in operation. Since September 2023, I have been moving round to consult with stakeholders in the sector as I mentioned. We are looking at a way to resolve the liquidity crisis that we have in the sector. Everybody believes that there is no appropriate price for electricity, there will only be appropriate pricing when there is stability in supply. There is no way we will increase tariffs for nothing. It must be for stable supply.”
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