The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity, CARE, has applauded the reduction of electricity tariff for Band A from N209/KWh to N160/KWh by the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission, EERC.
The group demanded that the tariff should be further reduced to reflect the purchasing power of workers and the poor people of Nigeria.
That was as it called on other state regulatory agencies to do same as the EERC had done.
In a statement by its national coordinator, Chinedu Bosah, the group said the reduction of electricity tariff for Band A customers in Enugu State from N209 to N160/Kwh had generated so much pushbacks from the Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu and organisations like ANED, GENCOS, NERC, APGC etc who all along favours high tariff and huge profits for the power companies.
It said EERC had shown how it arrived at its tariff after analysing the tariff structure and carrying along the Enugu electricity distribution company and other industry stakeholders.
“Rather than for the pro-high tariff groups (Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Association of Power Generating Companies, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Generating Companies, Minister for Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu etc.,) to analyse the methodology used by EERC, they are unanimous in claiming that EERC does not have the power to review tariff and went ahead to threaten that any state that reduces tariff will pay the difference,” CARE stated.
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The group argued that by virtue of the Electricity Act (EA), 2023 and Enugu State Electricity Law, 2023, EERC had the power to review electricity tariff in Enugu State just like other state regulatory agencies.
“What are the regulatory functions of EERC, if it cannot regulate the activities of the Distribution Company in the state, which includes electricity tariff payable by consumers in the state?
“We are sure that if EERC had increased electricity tariff, it would have been commended and endorsed by all these anti-electricity consumers (ANED, APGC, NERC, GENCOS and Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu etc),” the group said.
It alleged that since the privatisation of power sector in 2013, the only major preoccupation of the so-called electricity regulatory agency (NERC) had been incessant tariff hikes at the expense of electricity consumers and the working people.
“It is clear that NERC has become an agency that defends the interest of the power companies and cared less about most electricity consumers whose purchasing power cannot afford a high tariff,” the group said.
CARE stated that it demanded “the reduction of electricity tariff that reflects the purchasing power of the vast majority of Nigerian working people and should not be more than N30/KWh.”
It added: “CARE also demands the reversal of the privatisation programme (bringing it into public ownership under democratic control of workers and community people) and massive investment into the power sector to increase capacity in terms of generation, transmission and distribution in order to guarantee uninterrupted power supply to all Nigerians at affordable rates.”
