No tariff increase for poor, vulnerable as FG bars estimated billing

The Federal Government has directed the commencement of a nationwide mass-metering programme as part of efforts to put an end to estimated billing for electricity in the country.

The Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. James Momoh, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the directive was in response to yearnings of Nigerians.

The NERC boss said the power Distribution Companies, DisCos, will only raise tariffs after they consult customers.

“In response to media reports that there is an increase in tariffs for Nigerians, NERC wishes to clarify that tariff reviews going forward will only follow service-based principles.

“Under these service-based principles DISCOs will only be able to review tariff rates for customers when they consult with customers, commit to increasing the number of hours of supply per day and quality of service.

“In all cases poor and vulnerable Nigerians will not experience any increase. In line with these expectations, DISCOs are directed to engage with their customers on a Service Based Tariff structure,” he said.

The conditions to the DisCos from NERC are that they must consult with their customers and guarantee a level of power supply; customers be metered;  no estimated billing above the capping order which means that unmetered customers should not pay above what a metered customer pays.

Customers using 50 kilowatts and below will not see increase in their bills, and customers getting below 12 hours power supply will not have their tariff increased, NERC said.

“This means that unmetered customers will not experience any cost increase beyond what is chargeable to metered customers in the same area,” he said.

A planned hike of about 47 percent average for July 2020 was halted by the National Assembly.