There is apprehension as Abuja Electricity Distribution Company passed the new electricity tariff on all customers.
Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced that it gave the eleven Distribution Companies nationwide the go-ahead to hike electricity to N255 per Kilowatt from N68 for customers on Band A.
Customers under Band A get 20-24 hours of power supply, while those under B to E receive 16 hours and below.
According to reports, NERC has increased the tariff for the fourth time since the 2020 Multi-Year Tariff Order.
On Wednesday, Abuja Electricity Electricity Distribution companies apologized in a notice that it mistakenly charged all customers in all Bands the new rate due to system failure.
However, it was gathered that as of the time of filing this report, most customers under AEDC are still being charged the new tariff despite not having a 20-hour power supply.
The implication is that a household consuming 50kwh per day would spend around N350,000 per month and N4 million annually for electricity supply.
A further analysis showed that an electricity consumer who purchases 134 units monthly at N10,000 will have to pay around N40,000.
Although NERC had insisted that only 15 per cent of the electricity customers would be affected and that monthly electricity subsidies would be reduced by 52 per cent (N131.1 billion), it appears not not to be so at the moment.
The citizens are now lamenting that the hike meant worsened economic hardship.
Reacting to the development, the national secretary of the Network for Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria, Uket Obonga, said the NERC was not sincere about the tariff hike.
According to him, with approval for electricity for customers within Band A, NERC had granted the Discos the latitude to arbitrarily migrate those they want to be in Band A feeder with commensurate power supply.
“NERC is not sincere. They granted DISCOs the latitude to arbitrarily migrate those they want into band A feeders, knowing that the commission cannot monitor their actions.
“Equally, how many customers know the feeder to which they belong? It’s yet another scam on electricity consumers.
“What has happened is a clear case of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians who are under a heavy economic burden imposed upon us by the worst rulers in the history of Nigeria”, he said.
Ewetumo A A, a retired staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria PHCN, formerly the National Electric Power Authority, said with the new tariff approval, discos will surreptitiously implement the hike on all electricity customers irrespective of the Band.
“Discos are fraudsters. NERC has no monitoring tools. The federal government has no means of fact-checking discos data. Ultimately, all BANDs (A, B, C, D, E) will pay the new rate”, he said.