The Nigerian power sector was thrown into confusion yesterday over conflicting information regarding a resolution by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), directing the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) to increase their tariffs from Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
In a document marked 023/EKEDP/GMCLR/0025/2021, dated August 25, 2021 and signed by the General Manager, Loss Reduction, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Olumide Anthony-Jerome, the Disco had informed its customers on the decision to raise tariffs.
The company stressed that the increase would be reflected on the energy bill for October 2021, which would represent energy consumption for September 2021.
“For metered customers with internal vending arrangements, we urge you to adjust the rates accordingly to reflect the new tariff increase as released by NERC,” the memo indicated.
Titled: “Tariff Increase Notification”, the document said that the increase followed the approval by NERC, the industry regulator.
“This is to officially notify you that there will be an increase in electricity tariff with effect from 1st September 2021. This increase is as a result of the nationwide mandate to implement the Service Based Tariff approved by our regulators (NERC).
“Kindly note that the increase will be reflected on the energy bill for October 2021 which will represent energy consumption for September 2021,” it stated.
However, hours later, EKEDC in a statement signed by its Managing Director, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, described the release as unsubstantiated and urged the public to disregard all such reports, Ravenewsonline.com gathered.
“While we continue to review effective and regulatory strategies to manage the impact of changes to macro-economic indices affecting end-user tariffs, the general public will be duly informed, in the event of any changes to the end-user tariff,” the statement said.
