Be prepared for fresh electricity tariff hike, FG tells Nigerians

Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen

Be prepared for fresh electricity tariff hike, FG tells Nigerians

A fresh increase in electricity tariffs is in the offing as the Federal Government has told Nigerians to get ready for it.

Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said this in an interview in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, according to Bloomberg.

She said, “One of the key challenges we’re looking to resolve over the next few months is transitioning to a cost-efficient but cost-reflective tariff.”
Verheijen was in Tanzania for a World Bank-backed conference where Nigeria presented a $32 billion plan to boost electricity connections by 2030.

Private investors are expected to contribute $15.5 billion and the rest will come from public sources, including the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB).
Last year, the Federal Government approved a threefold increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification.

The fresh move to raise tariffs is coming amid pressure from Nigeria’s debt-burdened electricity distribution companies for tariffs to be cost-reflective to improve their finances.

The special adviser said Nigeria’s power prices needed to rise by about two-thirds for many customers to reflect the cost of supplying it.

Higher electricity tariffs, according to her, will be balanced by subsidies for less-affluent consumers.

This, she said, was necessary “so the sector generates revenue required to attract private capital, while also protecting the poor and vulnerable.”