Category:

Electricity Tariff

FG Meets With NLC, TUC Over Hike In Electricity, Fuel Tariff

by Bioreports September 15, 2020

written by Bioreports

The Federal Government on Tuesday met with the organised Labour over the hike in electricity and fuel tariffs.

The meeting called by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigerian Labour Congress in attendance held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The meeting at the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari is to discuss solutions to the recurring labour issues with a view to finding an end to incessant industrial actions.

In attendance at the meeting is the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva.

This comes as the labour unions are threatening to down tool over the pump price of petrol and electricity tariff.

They are also complaining of non-implementation of the N30,000 new minimum wage, alleged corruption in government agencies, loss of jobs across the industries, high cost of living and, businesses not booming in the light of the effects of COVID-19.

The labour unions and their civil society allies are meant to commence an indefinite industrial action and national protest from Wednesday, September 23.

On his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum said all is not well with the economy, calling for cooperation to fix the economy

While making a presentation on the topic, “Understanding the importance of fuel subsidy on the Nigerian Economy and the gains of deregulation,” Sylva noted that subsidy payment is a major source of corruption.

According to the minister, oil prices are low, adding that there is also a cut in production to about 1.412 million barrels per day.

Sylva who stressed that the nation’s major source of income which is oil, reduced by over 50 per cent, maintained that Nigeria was losing about N1billion daily to subsidy between 2016-2019.

Prior to this time, the country was losing about 3.7 billion naira daily.

Speaking further, he explained that despite the deregulation, fuel price in the country is the cheapest in the West African region.

He added that subsidy cost the government N2trillion in 2011 and N1.3trillion in 2013.

September 15, 2020 0 comment

Economy Electricity Tariff IBEDC POLITICS Uncategorized

New Service-Reflective Tariff‘ll Guarantee Effective Service Delivery – IBEDC

by Bioreports September 11, 2020

written by Bioreports

By Solomon Odeniyi

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has said that the electricity new service-reflective tariff was needed to ensure improvement in infrastructure and effective service delivery.

Regional Communication Officer of IBEDC, Osun Region, Mrs Kikelomo Owoye, said the increase in the electricity tariff was in the best interest of customers.

Owoeye explained that unlike in the past, the new tariff would encourage fairness, as customers would be billed based on what they consume and availability of power in their respective areas.

She noted that the tariff would enable the company to provide more infrastructure and improve on its service delivery to its customers.

Owoeye said: “It is a tariff approved by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission. It is a service-reflective tariff. Every customer will be charged according to what he or she consumes and the power supply in their area.

“For instance, if we have an area that enjoys 24 to 20 hours power supply, consumers of that area fall under class A, unlike before where we had R1 and R2, C1 and C2, D1 and D2 among others.

“We now have tariff class A, B, C, D and E classes and they are now into subcategories. We have the segment of non-maximum demand customers and the maximum customers fall under 1 and 2, that is, we have the MD1 and MD2, etc. Under these classes, we have A non-MD and A MD1 and 2. We also have B non-MD and B MD1 and 2. We also look at the hourly availability, that is what is used to give the unit cost to each of the classes. For A non MD, it is N62.33k that is the supply to this area is a minimum of 20 hours, for class of B that means they enjoy at least 16 hours, class of C enjoys supply between 16 and 12 hours while class of D enjoys between 12 hours and 8 hours and the E class gets from 8 to 4 hours supply.

“With all these classifications, we realize that most of the customers are expected to be metered. If you are being billed on post-paid metre, that means your multiplier will be based on where you fall into. From our end, we know the hours each feeder enjoys power and they are going to be billed based on that.

“In addition, this will encourage fairness unlike before everybody is on class R2 (residential) and the power supplied in each area differs but at the end of the day, no matter what is being used, customers have the same multiplier.

“We are also trying to see how this can translate into better service delivery and meet customers’ complaints. It is going to help us provide more infrastructure for our customers and replace the aging ones in the system. We are appealing to our customers to cooperate and understand so that we can deliver on this.”

September 11, 2020 0 comment

Electricity Tariff Featured Fuel Price Hike hero Osun Osun Civil Societies Coalition POLITICS Uncategorized

Osun Civil Society Groups Rise Against New Electricity Tariff, Fuel Price

by Bioreports September 4, 2020

written by Bioreports

Holds Rally In Osogbo

By Ismaeel Uthman

Civil Societies and human rights groups in the State of Osun have kicked against increment in the electricity tariff and fuel pump price, describing it as sheer wickedness, anti people and affront on common Nigerians.

A mass protest held on Friday where members of the various pressure groups registered their displeasure on the hike in fuel pump price and electricity tariff.

The Federal Government, through Pipeline Products Marketing Company had on Wednesday fixed the depot price for premium motor spirit at N151.56 per litre, while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association Nigeria (IPMAN) might be selling between N158 – N162 per litre.

Chairman of Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC), Comrade Waheed Lawal, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER, said that people of conscience would not sit down and watch the Federal Government further unleashing hardship on the common people through the obnoxious increment.

Lawal maintained that human rights activists in the state would hold a protest today in Osogbo on the increment and would not hesitate to occupy the entire state further if the Federal Government does not rescind its decision.

According to him, “It is totally unacceptable for the Federal Government to continue taking common Nigerians for granted and taking us for fools. It is an affront on common Nigerians to have increased electricity tariff when there is no regular power supply and proper billing system.

“The increment in the fuel pump price and electricity tariff is not only wicked, uncalled-for and condemnable, it an act gone too far to test the patience of Nigerians and we can no longer tolerate bad governance.

“The increment will further impoverish Nigerians; kill small- and medium-scale businesses and enterprises and the country’s economy if not reversed.

“The Federal Government is pretending not to know that the Coronavirus has rendered millions of Nigerians jobless and threatening means of livelihood of Nigerians. The government is not being considerate. We cannot continue to languish in silence. Our voice must be heard. Enough is enough”.

Osun Residents Reject Increment In Electricity Tariff

Residents of the State of Osun have expressed displeasure over the recent increment in electricity tariff and fuel pump price.

The residents, in different interviews with OSUN DEFENDER in Osogbo, Ilesa, Ife and Iwo yesterday said the increment in the electricity tariff amounted to injustice, as they were being made to pay more for the service they do not enjoy.

According to them, the Federal Government, which should be ashamed of the prevailing ‘epileptic power supply’, moribund refineries is insensitive to the plight of the people.

They stated that the hike in the fuel pump price would lead to inflation and increment in the prices of commodities, which will, in effect, add to their sufferings.

In his reaction, the Chairman, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Osun Chapter, Comrade Wahab Akinrinade, stated that the new electricity tariff ‘is nothing but a regulated scam’, saying that it amounts to sheer exploitation of poor Nigerians.

Akinrinade, who spoke with the medium in Ilesa, said it is an affront on Nigerians for the FG to increase tariff while power supply is not regular amidst the spate of crazy bills and absence of metre for many houses.

He said the increment in the electricity tariff and fuel is another cruel policy that will contribute to the death of manufacturing companies and businesses in Nigeria.

Speaking with the medium, the Director of Programme, Centre for Sustained Dialogue, Comrade Waheed Saka, described the approval of the new electricity tariff and fuel pump price as the highest level of insensitivity from the Federal Government.

According to Saka, everything about the increment speaks volumes about how wicked Nigerian leaders have become.

He asked: “How on earth will anybody happily approve a new tariff regime and increment in fuel price at a time our people are still languishing in pains and pangs, triggered by lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic?

“How on earth will successive leaders of our nation kowtow to the World Bank/International Monetary Fund directives without due diligence on the negative impact such directives will have on the citizen of this country?”

The human rights activist stated further that the electricity distribution companies, which failed in their responsibility to metre all households, despite widespread outcry of the people, now have presidential backing to further exploit the people through ‘the evil, insensitive and wicked’ tariff increment.

Comrade Rufus Oyatoro, who is the Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), rejected the new tariff and fuel pump price, describing it as an enrichment of few individuals.

Oyatoro said: “The increase in electricity tariff and fuel pump price is not a welcome idea. There has not been improvement in electricity supply. I just see it as a way of enriching some people. We were deceived to believe that the power sector will be better with the private sector in place before it was sold. But reverse is the case.”

September 4, 2020 0 comment

Editorial Electricity Tariff POLITICS Uncategorized

Editorial: The New Electricity Tariff

by Bioreports September 4, 2020

written by Bioreports

In a move that took the consumers by surprise, the regulator of the Power Sector, NERC, approved an increase in electricity tariff with effect from September 1, 2020. In the opinion of the regulator, the new tariff structure is based on the hours of electricity supply available to the consumers.

There is clearly a need for the pricing template to “reflect competitive and market-driven components”, as a government spokesman has pointed out; nevertheless, it must be equitable. Years after a shoddy “privatisation”, the consumer has not gained the dividends anticipated. Nigerians, as have been seen in the deregulated telecommunications sector, are prepared to pay for services rendered. It is however punitively unfair for the distribution companies to put every obstacle in the way of the metering. The government must wield the big stick here. The conditionality in approving increases in electricity tariffs must be interwoven with the demonstrated provision of pre-paid metres. This is non-negotiable.

Overall, the key to unlocking the crises is to put Electricity into the residual legislative list and allow a thousand flowers to blossom.

September 4, 2020 0 comment