Matthew Asabor
Lagos – Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company hosted the Federal Government/Labour Ad-Hoc committee on electricity tariff, Monday, in a stakeholders’ engagement session to discuss the recent adjustment in the electricity tariff.
The parley was part of the Federal Government follow-up engagement with organised Labour on the recently introduced
The meeting in Lagos was also part of the committee’s oversight functions to gather reports and engage with stakeholders around the country, with all members being involved in the decision-making process, as the committee used the occasion of the visit to visit the Eko Electricity Distribution Company office as well as that of Ikeja Electric.
In a statement, the Committee Chairman, Festus Keyamo, said it was no longer sustainable for the country to continue the electricity subsidy and that a cost reflective tariff regime would attract investments in the sector and promote growth.
Issues discussed at the meeting hovered around electricity generation, metering, electricity infrastructure improvements as well improved welfare and training for electricity companies’
The Committee used the opportunity of the engagement to highlight the process involved in the tariff adjustment and assured that a full implementation of the new service reflective tariff would lead to mass development in the sector as it provides room for Discos to invest more in the electricity sector and bridge the metering gap, citing the introduction of the National Mass Metering Programme as one of its numerous benefits of the new service regime.
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The Discos customers praised the efforts of the Discos, stressing that their response rate to complaints encouraged them to do more in terms of customer satisfaction.
Part of the resolution of the meeting was a directive to NEMSA to prepare for the certification and testing of the meters set to be rolled out by the National Mass Metering Programme which will provide 1 million free prepaid meters to customers before the end of the 2021 first quarter and additional 5 million free prepaid meters afterwards.
The Union leaders expressed their satisfaction with the efforts of the Committee and advised that alternative funding metrics should be explored to reduce the sector’s dependence on foreign funding as pricing is heavily dependent on current foreign exchange.
The meeting ended with all parties agreeing that cooperation is required to improve the sector and also stakeholders should embrace further collaboration as a way forward.
In attendance of the meeting were Honourable
