NERC Begins Implementation Of New Electricity Tarrif

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Tuesday approved the commencement of increased electricity tariff, beginning from September 1, 2020 (today).

The tariff increase implementation which was, however, slated for July 1 was halted by the National Assembly due to economic challenges.

According to NERC, the new tariff will be based on the hours of electricity supply available to the customers while those receiving more than 12 hours of supply would have to pay more for electricity beginning from September 1, 2020.

“Following consultations and directions on tariff policy, the commission hereby approves a deferment of the applicable tariffs for customers in service bands D and E (that is customers with a service commitment of less than an average of 12 hours supply per day over a period of one month) for the period September 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.”

The Commission categorised customers into maximum demand and non-maximum demand groups as against the previous categories of residential, commercial and industrial customers, with different bands (A to E) depending on the level of supply.

A breakdown of the new tariff shows that, for Ikeja, a residential customer on single phase receiving a minimum of 12 hours of supply is expected to pay N42.73 per KWh, as against N21.30 per kWh.

For Eko Electricity Distribution Company, a residential customer on single phase receiving a minimum of 12 hours of supply is expected to pay N43.01 per kWh, up from N24 per kWh.

Similarly, for Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, a residential customer on single phase receiving between 12 to 16 hours of supply is expected to pay N45.69 per KWh.

For Kaduna state, non-maximun demand receiving between 12 and 16 hours will be charged N50.10 per KWh, as the tariffs for customers receiving less than 12 hours had been temporarily frozen.

According to the Commission, Discos would only be allowed to charge customers the new tariffs upon investments that improve the quality of service experience, thus migrating customers to higher service bands or another order of the commission.