The Federal Government has announced plans to review electricity tariffs for customers outside the Band-A category, aiming to bring tariffs for other customer groups closer to the N206/kW paid by Band-A customers.
Speaking at the public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan (NIRP) in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, stated that the government can no longer sustain the N3 trillion subsidy on the power sector.
Adelabu emphasized that with power generation and distribution increasing by about 35% in 2024, ensuring the commercial sustainability of the industry is crucial for continued growth.
“We will look at the tariff again. I am not saying that we’re going to increase the tariff before I am misquoted. We are going to look at it and see how we can improve upon our modest achievement of last year, not only to ensure that we grow the sector that we need but also to ensure that we can invest more in revamping all these dilapidated infrastructures,” he said.
He also expressed concerns over the slow migration of customers to Band A, blaming Distribution Companies (DisCos) for failing to invest in necessary infrastructure.
“The migration to Band A should have been faster, but we found out that the DisCos refuse to invest. They have refused to invest in this sector. A lot of investment is required for us to achieve an accelerated migration of lower-band customers into Band A. It is taking a lot of time,” Adelabu added.
