Due to the pains suffered by Nigerians over the outbreak of coronavirus, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has suspended the proposed electricity tariff increase.
Politics Nigeria recalls that NERC had announced in January that tariff across the country will be hiked from April 1, 2020.
But in a statement on Tuesday, the regulator directed Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country to suspend the proposed increase for now.
According to the commission, the suspension is due to the adverse effects of the coronavirus which has affected the country’s economy and it will be unfair to begin the tariff increase during this trying time.
“The Orders of the Commission (Order No NERC/GL/184/2019 TO NERC/GL/184/2019) titled ”THE DECEMBER 2019 MINOR REVIEW OF MULTI YEAR TARIFF ORDER (MYTO) 2015 AND MINIMUM REMITTANCE ORDER FOR THE YEAR 2020″ shall remain in force until 30 June 2020 when a new minor review Order shall be issued by the Commission,” the statement read.
“There shall be no increase in tariffs of end-use customers on 1 April 2020.
“The current global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted on the availability of imported components for local assembly of meters for supply to end-use customers under the Meter Asset Provider (”MAP”) regulations and the roll out plan for the existing stock.
“The Commission acknowledges the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global economy and the consequential impact on the average Nigerian.
“All future tariff reviews shall be on the basis of consultations between the DisCo and customer clusters with firm commitments on rates and quality of service. The service level compact shall include a compensation mechanism for end-use customers to address the DisCo’s failure events to deliver on performance targets.”
