Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has announced plans by the Federal Government to regulate electricity tariffs in order to address disparities in the current billing system and foster investment in the power sector.
Speaking at the ongoing public presentation of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and the Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan on Thursday in Abuja, Adelabu noted that the government is considering this move due to the slow pace of migration to Band A customers, which he attributed to the hesitance of Distribution Companies to make necessary investments.
Currently, customers in Band B, who receive 17 to 18 hours of electricity supply, are charged N63 per kilowatt-hour, while those in Band A, who receive just two additional hours, are billed N209 per kilowatt-hour.
Adelabu described this situation as “unfair” and emphasised the need to regularise tariffs to create a more balanced and equitable pricing structure.
“We will review the tariff system. I am not suggesting that we will increase the tariffs, as I do not want to be misquoted.
“We will examine it to see how we can build upon our modest achievements from last year, not just to grow the sector we need, but also to ensure we can invest more in revitalising the dilapidated infrastructure,” he stated.
The minister further explained that the migration to Band A should have progressed more rapidly, saying, “We discovered that the DisCos are reluctant to invest. They have been unwilling to invest in this sector.
“A significant amount of investment is needed for us to expedite the migration of lower-band customers into Band A. This process is taking considerably longer than anticipated,” he said.
The government is planning to restructure the tariff bands to narrow the current wide gap between them, with a new system proposed to include Bands A, B, and C.
“The disparity between Band A tariffs and those for Bands B, C, D, and E is simply too large,” he remarked. “We believe this is unjust, and we must undertake some level of regularisation.”
