By Omowumi Omotosho
The Federal Government has announced plans to reassess electricity tariffs for consumers outside the Band A category.
The planned adjustment is aimed at aligning tariffs for other customer groups more closely with the N206/kW rate currently paid by Band A users.
During a public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan (NIRP) in Abuja, Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, stressed that the government can no longer sustain the N3 trillion subsidy on the power sector.
Adelabu noted that with power generation and distribution expanding by approximately 35% in 2024, ensuring the financial viability of the sector is essential for sustained progress.
“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 declared.
He further explained that the pace of migration to Band A has been slower than expected due to the reluctance of Distribution Companies (DisCos) to invest in necessary upgrades.
“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,” he said.
