A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) challenging the implementation of the Band A electricity tariff review by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company and 11 others.
The court’s judgment, delivered on Monday, deemed MAN’s suit an abuse of the court process, premature, and lacking regard for Section 51 of the Electricity Act 2023.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Thursday, “The court also held that MAN’s case disclosed no reasonable cause of action as it had not exhausted the dispute resolution mechanism… It thus held that the suit was not instituted with due process of law, and consequently struck out the case.”
This ruling is a setback for MAN, which had contested the minor review of the electricity tariff by NERC.
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MAN’s lawsuit sought four key reliefs:
– Due Process: MAN argued that due process stated in the Act for the review was not fulfilled before AEDC and others applied to NERC for the tariff review on July 31, 2023.
– Regulatory Requirements: MAN claimed that regulatory requirements for tariff reviews were not followed before NERC issued the Supplementary Order of April 3, 2024, and the subsequently reviewed rate of May 6, 2024.
– Discrimination: MAN alleged that placing the burden of the tariff increase on only Band “A” feeders and leaving out other bands amounted to discrimination against such consumers.
– Administrative Procedures: MAN emphasized that defendants must comply with administrative procedures for tariff review before rightfully implementing the April and May Supplementary Orders.
NERC had objected to the suit, stating that MAN’s case constitutes an abuse of court processes, being hasty and prematurely filed without following due process of the law.
Band A customers, who are premium customers with no government subsidies, have a guarantee of at least 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
However, manufacturers under this category claim their tariffs have tripled, impacting production costs negatively, with a rate of N209.50 per kilowatt-hour.
