Is Nigeria’s Electricity Tariff Going Up? FG Finally Breaks Silence

Is Nigeria’s Electricity Tariff Going Up? FG Finally Breaks Silence

The Federal Government has moved to shut down widespread reports of an impending electricity tariff increase, with the Presidency insisting that no rate hike is planned for any category of grid consumers and that subsidies for lower-usage households will continue. In an official statement issued on Saturday via X, the Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure in the Office of the Vice President, Sadiq Wanka, said recent media coverage had misrepresented remarks he made at an industry event in Lagos on July 22, 2026. Wanka clarified that his presentation at the Asharami Square 3.0 conference focused on investment opportunities in Nigeria’s power sector and the Federal Government’s long-term reform agenda, not an announcement of a tariff increase.

Wanka stated emphatically that there is no planned tariff hike for any grid consumer across any service band and that the government remains committed to protecting vulnerable households through continued tariff support. The presidential aide explained that his comments reaffirmed the tariff policy direction already set out in the National Integrated Electricity Policy, which was finalised in December 2024 and approved by the Federal Executive Council in May 2025. He described it as a long-standing, publicly available policy of gradually transitioning to cost-reflective tariffs, a framework that has already been implemented for Band A electricity consumers who receive at least 20 hours of power daily.

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For all other consumer bands, Wanka stressed that there is no plan to remove subsidies. Instead, the government is exploring how to deliver value and support more efficiently. At the heart of this effort is the Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF), a mechanism established under the Electricity Act 2023 to channel targeted subsidies directly to vulnerable consumers through their electricity accounts or other identity-linked means. The initiative is expected to improve transparency in subsidy administration, ensure support reaches intended beneficiaries, and strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s electricity sector.

The clarification comes amid ongoing public concern over electricity costs, particularly following a recent report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission revealing that the Federal Government incurred a subsidy obligation of N358.32 billion in the first quarter of 2026. According to the report, the government continues to finance more than half of the industry’s generation costs by freezing end-user tariffs at July 2024 rates. NERC noted that the open-ended nature of the current subsidy regime exposes the government to potentially rising financial obligations due to volumetric risk and changes in generation costs.

Wanka further acknowledged the vital role journalists play in policy communication, stating that the administration of President Bola Tinubu supports platforms like Asharami Square that aim to deepen journalists’ capacity to convey the full context of complex policy discussions to the public. The government counts on the continued support of the media in this important national duty, the statement added.

Is Nigeria’s Electricity Tariff Going Up? FG Finally Breaks Silence