‘N4 for the poor’ — DisCos begin new service-based electricity tariff

September 1, 2020 8:25 am

The electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in the country have begun the implementation of the new electricity tariff.

TheCable had reported President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of the proposed cost-reflective energy tariff for the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI), and that residential areas classified as “poor” would not be affected.

In the new service-based reflective tariff structure, customers on estimated billing will also not be affected as the president has ordered mass metering of consumers across the country.

The new tariff regime kicks off on September 1, and it is expected to be reviewed quarterly.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) directed DisCos to maintain the life-line tariff of N4 for all customers consuming less than 50kWh of energy per month “as a safeguard for the less privileged members of the society”.

In a statement on Monday, Oyebode Fadipe, general manager of corporate communications at Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), said the firm has commenced the implementation of the new service reflective tariff plan (SRT) across its franchise area.

“The Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) plan is a NERC mandated tariff structure whereby an upward increment in tariffs will result in substantially longer hours of power supply, good quality voltage profile, swifter response to faults clearing and provision of pre-paid meters,” Fadipe said.

“The new tariff design proposes an upwardly adjusted tariff for customers who are not averse to paying more to enjoy longer hours of supply, standard voltage profile and faster fault clearance timelines.

“While we keep working at ensuring all classes of customers enjoy improved supply, customers who enjoy less than 12hrs of supply will not be affected by the new tariff plan. Hours of supply to this class of customers will also not be adversely affected by the implementation of the plan.”

According to the tariff schedule released by Kaduna Electric, service-based tariff approved by NERC will be implemented from September to December.