Nigerians should accept new electricity tariff increase or face total blackout—-Federal Government
The Nigerian Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has issued a stark warning: if the proposed electricity tariff hike is not implemented, the country could face a total blackout within the next three months. This announcement comes amid growing concerns over the sustainability of Nigeria’s power sector.
Adelabu made the statement during a Senate Committee on Power hearing, following the rejection of the new tariff regime by the committee, chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. Adelabu emphasized the critical need for an increase in electricity tariffs to avoid a complete shutdown of the sector.
“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now, in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs,” Adelabu told the Senate Committee. He noted that the power sector requires significant investment to maintain stability, estimating that $10 billion per year is needed over the next decade.
The government’s inability to fund the required subsidy due to limited resources is driving the push for tariff increases. Adelabu stated that without commercial pricing, the power sector would not attract investors, which is crucial for its survival. He urged lawmakers to support efforts to pay the outstanding N2.9 trillion subsidy owed across the value chain of generation, transmission, and distribution.
However, the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Abaribe, expressed concern about the impact of the tariff hike on ordinary Nigerians. Abaribe called for more comprehensive consultations and alternative solutions to ensure that the power sector’s liquidity is maintained without causing undue hardship to the public. Senators Simon Lalong and Adamu Aliero emphasized the importance of providing palliative measures and criticized the lack of consultation before the tariff increase.
The hearing also brought to light the case of a company named “ZIGLAKS,” which allegedly failed to meet its contractual obligations to provide prepaid meters to Nigerian consumers, despite receiving N32 billion over 20 years. The committee has called for further investigation into this matter.
Various stakeholders, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Association of Power Generation (Gencos), and Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), made presentations at the hearing, highlighting the complex challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector.
