While Nigerians battle with the harsh economy, the report revealed that an electricity tariff hike may be introduced in October 2024 by the Nigerian Government as the country’s monthly power subsidy has risen to N181,63 billion in September.
This comes after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the removal of subsidies in areas categorized as Band A feeders on April 3, 2024.
NERC had revealed that the monthly electricity subsidy at that time stood at N140.7 billion.
Consequently, NERC approved an electricity tariff hike for electricity consumers enjoying at least 20 hours of electricity daily, raising their tariff to N225 per kilowatt-hour.
Recall that the electricity subsidy by the Federal Government rose from N102.30 billion in May to N181,63 billion in September.
This development has generated serious outcries among Nigerians, including labour unions, educational and health institutions, whose electricity bills tripled following the removal of the subsidy.
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In May when the subsidy figure dropped to N102.30 billion, the government slashed the Band A tariff to N206.80/kWh.
NERC maintained that the reason for the reduction was due to a fall in the exchange rate of the Dollar to the Naira.
However, the tariff was jerked to N209/kWh in early July as the subsidy rose again to N158 billion in June.Accordingly, in the period under review, the NERC put the dollar exchange rate at N1,494.1 in July; 1,564.3 in August; and N1601.5 in September.
This indicates the rising cost of power generation in Nigeria. The development coupled with the country’s inflation rate which stood at 32.15 percent in August 2024 had fueled speculations that there may be another tariff increase in the October Multi-Year Tariff Order unless the cost of power generation drops.
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