Nigerians have attacked the Federal Government for allowing power distribution companies (DisCos) across the nation to raise their tariffs.
The Nigerian Power Regulatory Commission (NERC) has changed the electricity rates paid to DisCos, which necessarily indicates that the tariffs have been raised, according to Anaedoonline.ng.
It was learned that certain distribution businesses had their tariffs raised, while others had theirs decreased.
The stealth rise was not publicized or published on the NERC website, according to this platform’s checks.
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An energy customer in Abuja verified that the prices had been raised without public notice, claiming that he recharged N5,000 today and received 91.7 units instead of the customary 107.
Following this event, electrical users in the country expressed their displeasure on Thursday with the country’s stealth electricity rate rise, calling it untimely and anti-people.
Consumers chastised President Muhammadu Buhari’s government for allowing Discos to boost energy rates in the face of fuel scarcity and the country’s economic woes.
Kola Olubiyo, the President of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, told Newsmen that his organization had taken up the problem with the regulator last week.
He claimed that although some consumers reported their prices had been hiked by N4, others couldn’t determine how much theirs had been raised, and that the NERC had yet to issue a public statement on the matter.
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He said, “They (NERC) raised it last week or thereabout, and is like it is a N4 adjustment. Port Harcourt and Abuja (Discos) raised it and in fact, I think it is across board.
“But what we are asking the regulator is that if they approved something that is going to affect our pocket without letting us know, it is like shaving our heads in our absence.
“They said labour was part of them and I said is that what labour went to negotiate for us? I was told that they have a structured table that has already been approved and it is just for them to implement.
“But if they have approved the table as they said, are they giving us the required services? You and I know that services have not improved. We are having low generation and all manner of blame games.”
He asserted that the regulator should provide a table on the increase as it used to publish in the past, stressing that consumers had the right to know.
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He said, “They should let us have the table that shows the bit-by-bit increment. We should have it. They are not communicating with the public.
“If they are taking a decision that will affect our disposable income, are we not supposed to be in the know? If you raise it they will argue that are we not aware that things are increasing everyday. Is that the way we are going to work?”
Also, an official at the Federal Ministry of Power said the increase had to be implemented because the Federal Government had withdrawn some of its financial support to power firms.
The official disclosed that there was an official communication sent to the DisCos to notify them of the adjustment in tariff.
He said: “The Federal Government has to withdraw every support or most of its support to power firms, such as subsidy on electricity,” the source, who pleaded not to be named for lack of authorisation, stated.
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“So in a way, there is an adjustment in tariff because they (power firms) are shouldering higher cost responsibility now. However, some of them actually have reductions in their tariffs and nobody is talking is about it.
“They (Discos) have been communicated more than a month ago, since January or so,” he said.
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