By Sunday Etuka, Abuja
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) operating in the country to slash the tariff of their Band A feeders from the earlier approved N225 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 206.80/kWh.
This directive was contained in the Commission’s May 2024 Supplementary Order to the DisCos, effective from 6th May 2024 (today).
When contacted, the Head of Public Affairs, NERC, Dr. Usman Arabi explained that the decision was taken on the basis of the current reduction in the Foreign Exchange (Forex), which was one of the components considered before the tariff increase.
Recall, on April 3, 2024, the Commission approved a tariff increase of N225kWh for Band A customers from the previous tariff of N68kWh, pointing to the rise in Inflation, Exchange Rates and Gas Prices as reasons for the upward review of the tariff.
This, it said, was to allow DisCos recover sufficient revenue to incentivize investments necessary for continuous improvement in service delivery.
However, Dr. Arabi explicated that now that the forex has dropped, it was necessary to ask for a downward review of the tariff for the Band A customers.
Following this directive, however, the Management of Kaduna Electric has announced a downward review in the tariff of its Band A feeders from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh.
This was contained in a Public Notice signed by its Head, Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi on Monday, May 6, 2024.
The Company, through the Public Notice informed that the review which is effective from 6th May 2024, affects both prepaid and postpaid customers.
While assuring customers on its Band A feeders of continued availability of 20-24hrs supply daily as stipulated in the Service Based Tariff regime, the company noted that the tariff for Bands B, C, D, and E remains unchanged.
