Barley 48 hours after the Federal government approved an increase in electricity tariffs, the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu has hinted at further increases in the months to come.
Speaking during a press conference in Abuja Friday, Mr. Adelabu said the recent hike in tariff announced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is a starting point in phasing out subsidies on electricity.
“This tariff review is in conformity with our policy thrust of maintaining a subsidized pricing regime in the short run or the short term with a transition plan to achieve a full cost reflective tariff for over a period of, let us say three years,” the minister said.
“I have mentioned it in a couple of media briefings that it is because of government sensitivity to the pains of our people that we will not make us migrate fully into a cost reflective tariff or to remove 100 percent subsidy in the power sector like it was done in the oil and gas sector.
“The government would have paid N2.9 trillion for 2024. This is more than 10 percent of the national budget. It will be insensitive on our part to compel the government to pay such subsidy when we have other competing issues the government needs to fund.
“We are not ready to aggravate the sufferings any longer which is why we said it must be a journey rather than a destination and the journey starts from now on, that we should do a gradual migration from the subsidy regime to a full cost reflective regime and we must start with some customers.
“This is more like a pilot for us at the Ministry of Power and our agencies. It is like a proof of concept that those that have the infrastructure sufficient enough to deliver stable power of enjoying 20 hours of light to be the ones to get tariff add.”
He added that N225 kilowatt per hour Band A customers are charged is little compared to N600 per litre they pay for petrol to power their generations
