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Tariff hike: Absence of board at NERC frustrating actions

The absence of a constituted board at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) may be taking its toll on issues and protests over the newly…

The absence of a constituted board at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) may be taking its toll on issues and protests over the newly increased electricity tariff nationwide.
Sources familiar with procedures at the regulatory commission said the members of staff at present lack the power and legality to make key decisions regarding regulatory issues as stipulated by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (2005). Daily Trust learnt that they could only enforce previous decisions made by the former commissioners but not to make new ones in the interim.
 The seven commissioners at NERC left the office on December 22, 2016 after spending five years in their positions.
A day before they left office, the chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, signed off the adjusted tariff, a 10-year tariff plan under the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2.1 after consultations at the level of the 11 electricity Distribution companies (Discos).    
With the new tariff implemented on Monday February 1, 2016, electricity consumers had their bills increased by an average of 45 per cent. Although the Commission and Discos said electricity customers would no longer pay the Fixed Charge component which was between N702 and N750 monthly, the Order indicates that the fixed charge was integrated into the main Energy Charge (EC) triggering the rise.
The energy charge which was earlier N14.70k for the residential customers (R2) of Abuja Discos has risen to N24.30k, which is about 65 per cent increment.
 This has not gone down well with the oganised labour. A coalition of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade union Congress (TUC) held nationwide protests yesterday across the 36 states and Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The unions protested at the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the NERC headquarters in Abuja and the National Assembly to express their anger over the tariff hike.
Carrying various placards reading ‘we say no to tariff increase’, ‘give us meters’ among others, they sang solidarity songs as they warned of the consequences of the government not taking their messages seriously.
The labour and trade unions said they were not consulted by NERC before the increase was approved as required and that it was not reflective of the poor power supply. The House of Representatives on its part had said it had a resolution barring the commission from the action in the meantime.
 The unions noted that if their request is not granted on the tariff reversal, they will continue the protest and ‘Occupy NERC, Discos and Gencos’.
The NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the absence of meters in most homes after over two years of the privatization is also corruption which President Muhammadu Buhari should battle. 
The protesters demanded the immediate provision of meters, an immediate end to estimated billing nationwide and further improvement in power generation. They called on the federal government to strengthen the regulator so it can make and enforce rules that will protect the masses who are the consumers of electricity.
Earlier, the Discos’ group has called on electricity users to cooperate on the new tariff regime, saying they will keep to their promises of improved services and aggressive metering.
The protracting absence of commissioners at NERC is worrisome and is affecting the making of critical decision at the office. It is almost seven weeks since the last commissioners left office on December 22, 2015.
While the most senior staff member, Dr. Anthony Akah is the acting Head at NERC, sources said there was no official communication from the Presidency on that even when the Office of the President was briefed shortly before the past commissioners left.
A source told the Daily Trust that there were two illegalities involved in the situation. He said the former commissioners were supposed to handover to a newly constituted board of commissioners before they left. But since the Presidency had not gotten the new officials, it was a risk and technically illegal for the former officials to leave office.
Section 35 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (2005) provides that all appointments/re-appointments shall be made before the expiration of the tenure of those in office. That has already been flouted by the presidency. 
The source said the other illegality is that the commission is in limbo as it is grounded and that it cannot not make critical decisions because the Act states that there should be a minimum of four commissioners to form a quorum before any decision is made. The Head or administrator of NERC is strange to the Act. 
 

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