Oscarline Onwuemenyi
20 September, 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and other key consumers of electricity in the country have rejected the latest proposal by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review power charges on a monthly basis.
The group who made this known at a stakeholder’s forum organized by NERC in Abuja, where the consumers insisted on the status quo, which implies a possible review of the tariff on a biannual basis.
MAN said that a more frequent review of the tariff in the electricity industry would harm the manufacturing sector.
Similarly, in its submission, the Nigerian Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network (NECAN) said that any increase in the tariff would adversely affect consumers.
Noting that the last tariff review resulted in 95 percent increase in charges, the NECAN Chairman, Mr. Tomi Akingbogun, urged the Federal Government to protect consumers’ interest in the electricity industry.
He also urged NERC to ensure that all electricity consumers were metered before considering any tariff review.
In his own presentation, the President of the Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) Mr. Eze Ude, said since hoteliers did not review their rates on a monthly basis, it was not rational to expect them to pay different electricity tariffs every month.
However, the representatives of the Eko and Ibadan electricity distribution companies backed the plan by NERC as they claimed that their invoices vary on monthly basis.
Present at the meeting representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network, electricity distribution companies (Discos), the Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors, and the Hotel Owners Forum Abuja.
