FG cuts electricity tariff by over 50%

Following recent complaints of high electricity tariff by consumers and its grave impact on the nation’s economy, the Federal Government has announced reduction of electricity tariff by

over 50 percent in some places.

The Chairman of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi who announced the reduction in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said however that the reduction does not affect the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, facility and its payment.

Dr. Amadi explained that the reduction was arrived at after the Commission had reviewed the technical and financial assumption of MYTO 2.1.

He said “The review shows that the major underlying cause of the skyrocketing increase in the tariff is the huge Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which are passed through to consumers. In some DISCOs ATC&C losses raised tariff by as much as 80-103%.

“The Commission has been listening to consumers and taking full account of the impact of high tariff on consumers and the Nigerian economy, has therefore reviewed the basis of the MYTO 2.1 assumptions and has determined that it is inappropriate to transfer to consumers collection losses that are controllable by DISCOs.

“It is the responsibility of the DISCOs to collect their revenue from their customers. Failure to do so should not be a penalty to customers who pay their bills. It is clear that removing the collection losses will lead to lower tariffs for consumers.