•••Says N3 Trillion Electricity Subsidy not Sustainable
By Attah Ede
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, on Thursday said that Federal Government could no longer sustain the N3 trillion subsidy on the power sector.
Towards this end, the Minister revealed that the Federal Government may increase electricity tariffs for customers outside the Band-A category to enhance the liquidity of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
Adelabu disclosed this during the public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan (NIRP) in Abuja,
He noted that power generation and distribution increased by about 35% in 2024, adding that ensuring the commercial sustainability of the industry is crucial for continued growth.
According to him, on the current structure, customers in Band B, who enjoy 18 to 17 hours of electricity supply, pay N63 per kilowatt-hour, while those in Band A, with only two hours more of supply, are charged N209 per kilowatt-hour, stating that it is unfair.
“There is need for a regularisation of the tariffs to create a more balanced and equitable pricing system. 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.
“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 needed for us to achieve an accelerated migration of lower-band customers into Band A. It is taking a lot of time.”
The minister stressed the gap between the Band A tariffs and Bands B, C, D, and E is just too wide, adding that it’s not fair.
