BY BANYO TEMITAYO
TWO months after the implementation of the controversial electricity tariff hike, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has again approved over 50 per cent hike in tariff.
The new tariff, which takes effect from January 1, 2021, will be paid by all customers across the 11 electricity Distribution Companies.
This was contained in a revised Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) signed by the Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, and dated December 30, 2020.
The new order, according to the Commission, supercedes the previous Order NERC/2028/2020.
To arrive at the new tariff, the NERC, in the new Order NERC/225/2020, said it considered the 14.9 per cent increase in inflation rate in November 2020; foreign exchange of N379.4/$1 as of December 29, 2020; available generation capacity; US inflation rate of 1.22 per cent; and the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the power firms.
In the revised Service-Based Tariff, all classes of electricity users will pay increased rates unlike the previous hike regime that exempted low power getters.
According to the NERC Order, after June 2021, a Cost Reflective Tariff (CRT) expected to raise the new cost higher will be activated.
Recall that the initial hike implemented in November had drawn criticisms from Nigerians at home and abroad, with the labour unions threatening to down tools across all sectors.
