Page 6 - AfrElec Week 41

AfrElec TARIFFS AfrElec

Nigeria again delays tariffs

amid rows with unions

NIGERIA THE Nigerian government has extended the sus- and business premises which currently are with-
pension of the new electricity tariff by one week. out them.
The Nigerian government has again delayed The NMMP seeks to increase payment dis-
the introduction of new power tariffs following cipline, and the government has set the target
pressure from the trade unions. of December 2020 for various agencies, such as
Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission Ministry of Power, Nigerian Electricity Regula-
(NERC) chair James Momoh said this week that tory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Elec-
the previous two-week delay had been extended tricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA)
by a third week on October 11. to push forward the programme.
The government has pushed back the new “The Federal Government committed to pro-
service-based tariff regime, which would see vide six million meters and NERC is expected to
high power bills for most businesses, after threats compel the distribution companies to meet the
of industrial action. metering needs of the customers,” he said.
Minister of State for Labour Festus Keyamo Other issues to be address include the pro-
is now to head a committee that will review the curement of new meters from Nigerian manu-
delay to the tariff changes. facturers, and protecting the pay of power sector
Momoh said the one-week extension would workers during the transition period.
enable the committee to review how the new tar- The changes are causing great confusion
iff structure is to be implemented. among consumers, as well as fears about higher
The changes emerged after talks between the power bills.
federal government, organised labour and the However, the reforms are part of wider gov-
Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Electricity ernment efforts to achieve universal access
Tariff. to electricity and to root out corruption in the
The issue is that while the new service-based power sector.
tariff will see bills rise, in order to raise income Abuja aims to make the sector more attractive
for debt-ridden supply companies, the govern- for private investors, and has brought in Siemens
ment has allowed VAT on electricity bills to be to provide management expertise as well as gen-
earmarked to provide relief to customers for erating technology.
higher bills. Nigeria currently offers only 5,200MW of
Other changes include the government’s grid capacity, while many gas-fired power plants
National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), stand idle because of a lack of gas and pipeline
which aims to install meters in many domestic infrastructure. ™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 15•October•2020