Business

FG suspends electricity tariff hike as power subsidy hits N1.6tn

Published

10 months ago

January 18, 2024

FG suspends electricity tariff hike as power subsidy hits N1.6tn

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, on Wednesday, released the 2024 electricity tariffs which showed that the Federal Government is to shoulder about N1.6tn subsidy this year to avert electricity tariff hike.

In the tariff review applications of the 11 power distribution companies in Nigeria, the NERC revealed what it approved as their different cost-reflective tariffs and what was allowed as tariffs by the commission following the Federal Government’s subsidy.

The NERC disclosed this in the regulatory instruments on the Multi Year Tariff Order 2024 for the different power distribution companies.

It said the order shall take effect from January 1, 2024, and shall cease to be effective on the issuance of a new tariff review order by NERC for each particular Disco.

The reports indicated that the tariffs should naturally rise considering various economic fundamentals and industry parameters such as the rise in foreign exchange, cost of gas, inflation, among others.

But an analysis of the MYTO 2024 documents for various Discos indicated that the NERC retained the electricity tariffs for 2023, based on the subsidy being paid by the government this year.

Taking Ikeja, Benin and Abuja Discos for instance, while the cost-reflective tariffs approved by NERC for the Discos for 2024 were N112.10/Kilowatt-hour, N126/kWh and N120.88/kWh respectively, what the regulator approved for the power firms were N56.6/kWh, N60.1/kWh and N63.24/kWh respectively.

It was observed that the NERC retained the tariffs charged by the Discos in 2023, as the Federal Government would pay their respective outstanding balance through subsidy this year.

Further analysis of the reports showed that the subsidy for only the month of January 2024 which the government would incur for consumers under Ikeja Disco was N19.85bn; for Benin Disco, N11.74bn; and for Abuja Disco, N19.44bn.

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The cumulative subsidy for the entire year is what the power sector regulator puts at N1.6tn.

It must, however, be stated that what the Discos submitted to the NERC as their own calculated cost-reflective tariffs were far higher than the cost-reflective tariffs approved for them by the regulator.

However, despite approving lower cost-reflective tariffs for the power firms, the allowed tariffs were further reduced, as the balance would be sorted by the N1.6tn subsidy to be paid by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government has been paying subsidies on electricity before now, but it has not been this much.

For instance, on December 18, 2023, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the Federal Government spent N375.8bn on electricity subsidy between January and September 2023, as power consumers paid a total of N782.6bn for the commodity during the same period.

The report stated that in the first quarter of 2023, the Federal Government subsidised power by N36bn, this increased to N135.2bn in the second quarter, and jumped to N204.6bn in the third quarter. Figures for the fourth quarter are not released yet.

The NERC, however, stated on Wednesday that the N1.6tn subsidy for 2024 was too high and stressed that it was not sustainable.

It also revealed that four states had developed their electricity law, while four others were in the process of completing theirs.

Providing explanation on the new tariff order released by the commission, the Chairman, NERC, Sanusi Garba, said, “On the MYTO, I want to correct the wrong impression that for one year we haven’t had any reviews.

“The reality is that the reviews are being done, but what has happened is that what you pay as a customer is a blend of regulation and policy. So if we determine that you should be paying N150 and the Federal Government says ‘no you should pay N60, I will pay the difference,’ then that’s what it is. The government will now provide the money.

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“So that is why in the current tariff order, you will see that this is what you should pay, while this is what the government says you should pay, because the government will provide the difference, until there is a change of policy.”

Also commenting on the development, the Vice Chairman, NERC, Musiliu Oseni, declared that the N1.6tn electricity subsidy was unsustainable, stressing that subsidy was more beneficial to the rich.

He said, “In this order, we provided what the tariffs are supposed to be, and what is being charged based on the subsidy policy of the government. And in each order, you will see the amount of subsidy per Disco.

“And in total, this year we are heading to about N1.6tn subsidy, which most likely everybody here will feel is not sustainable. If nothing is done to electricity tariffs, that is what the subsidy will likely be. Now, how much is the total budget of this country?

“You can do the maths and find out the percentage that that will represent, and whether we should continue to do that. Meanwhile, evidence has shown that it is the rich that benefit more from the so-called subsidy.”

Reacting to what his vice said, Garba stated that “hopefully, going forward, we will focus more on the vulnerable customers in terms of the benefit of subsidy. Then those who can truly afford the true cost of electricity will pay for it.”

On states that have enacted their own electricity laws, the Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, NERC, Dafe Akpeneye, said four states now have their own electricity laws, while four others were making finishing touches on theirs.

Outlining states that have developed their power laws, he said, “Basically it is Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu and Anambra. Lagos, Osun, Edo and Kano are work in progress.”

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu assented to the electricity bill, which empowers states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity.

The new electricity law repeals the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 and consolidates the laws relating to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Recall that the senate had passed the electricity bill in July 2022 to solve the sector’s challenges.

FG suspends electricity tariff hike as power subsidy hits N1.6tn

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

Published

11 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Published

12 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Business

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

Published

12 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.