ELECTRICITY TARIFF HIKE: THE
INSENSITIVITY OF NERC TOWARDS THE DOWNTRODDEN NIGERIANS
· * Criminal Estimated Billing System By Discos–
Unresolved
· * Distribution of Prepaid Meters To Consumers –
Unresolved
· * Unreliable Electricity Supply – Getting Worse
· * Improvement In Power Generation – Nothing To
Write Home About
Dear Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission NERC,
Nigerians woke up on Thursday, 4th
April, 2024, to the sad news of arbitrary hike in the electricity tariff regime
of your administration, with a wave of dissatisfaction and apprehension registering
on the faces of Nigerians, who are struggling to survive under the harsh
economic conditions presently ravaging the entire nation. One would have
thought that a well formulated and articulated plan would have been put in place
to ameliorate the sufferings of the Nigerian masses, but alas, the reverse is
the case here.
Since the very beginning of Chief
Tinubu administration on 29th May, 2023, it has been from one
disastrous moment to another, with the downtrodden Nigerians bearing most of
the pains. And instead of proffering solutions and reassuring the people of an imminent
end to their suffering, more harsh decisions are being churn out every now and
then to impoverish the people the more.
With “subsidy is gone” mantra of
the Tinubu administration, no friendly or encompassing approach has been made
toward ending the undue hardship imposed on Nigerians by the government. The
only beneficiaries to this maladministration so far are the very people who are
at the corridors of power across the three tiers of government. While the
executive and legislative arm of government can budget billions of scarce
resources for their personal comfort, the downtrodden Nigerians has been asked
to make unending sacrifices should they ever desire to breath. This is so
devastating to the commonwealth of the people who feel captured and conquered
by the powers that be.
From the foregoing therefore, it
is absolutely ill-timed, inhuman, unjust and unacceptable, the announced
electricity tariff hike by NERC. This anti-people policy should be reversed
with immediate effect and without any delay. Should the speed at rolling out
anti-people policies be geared towards fixing the damages on the economic
frontier in the Nigerian space, the level of pains, agony, dislocation and
trauma that Nigerians experience on daily basis to meet their needs would have
been long resolved.
In 2001, MTN and Econet (now Airtel)
rolled out their mobile services in Nigeria with per-minute-billing, which was
a total ripped off of the resources of the few Nigerians who could afford their
mobile services at the time. With a 1 minute, 05 seconds call duration, you are
billed for whole 2 minutes, not minding that you only spent 5 seconds of the
second minute. This ripping off of Nigerians by these telco at the time
continued unabated even with the regulator (NCC) who keeps protecting them that
per second billing was not possible despite the outcry against such policy by
the Nigerian telecom consumers at the time. However, two years later in 2003,
Globacom Limited (Glo), a Nigerian owned telecom operator emerged with per
second billing policy from their day one in the Nigerian telecom market. This policy
of Glo brought a serious healthy competition to the telecommunication industry
with Glo amassing more subscribers to their network as Nigerians soon
discovered that they’ve been lied to in the past regarding the possibility of
implementing per second billing on telecom services. The hitherto operators who
boasted that per second billing was impossible at the time were forced to
implement the policy as competition was driving against their business
continuation and successes in the Nigerian telecom space. And today, you are
billed for the exact seconds you spent in making calls, which is a huge relief
to the Nigerian people from being ripped off by the telecoms providers in Nigeria,
and all thanks to Glo.
On the electricity space in Nigeria,
the service providers have always billed Nigerians for darkness, as a result of
the criminal ESTIMATED BILLING REGIME. Instead of NERC to fashion out measures
to end this criminality, they have always looked the other way, (just like
their counterpart in the telecom sector NCC in the recent past) while the
service providers keep ripping Nigerians off. Unmetered and analog metered
customers are the major segment bearing the consequences of this criminal
estimated billing policy. NERC has a major role to play in ending this
criminality, but what have they done? Certainly nothing done in this regard.
In all honesty, what is
responsible for the abysmal performance of power generation, transmission and
distribution in Nigeria today? With huge resources being budgeted yearly by the
government in the sector, why is Nigeria laging behind in terms of adequate power
generation and management resources for the good of the people? Will Nigerians pay
a good electricity rate when power is available 24/7? Yes, without any doubt. Therefore,
NERC should prioritize adequate power generation, outstanding transmission
capacity, and robust distribution network to facilitate smooth power operation
and see Nigerians jostling to pay for services rendered. This backward approach
of putting the cart before the horse should be done away with immediately.
In pursuant to billing Nigerians for
the exact number of Kwh being consumed, all Discos in Nigeria should be mandated
to provide all-band customers with PREPAID METERS in the first instance, and a well
thought-out approach to increasing the electricity tariff in the second
considerations, provided the energy is available for consumption. Metered electricity
consumers will have no pain in paying exactly what they consumed within any
given period. This is the angle the government should be driving, not the
avenue to creating more hardship thereby frustrating the needed economic growth
to savage our dwindling economy occasioned by the various harsh policies of the
government.
In the recent past, the
manufacturing sector of our economy has suffered a deadly blow, as lots of
multinationals have either relocated to other friendly climes or closed shops
completely due to the high cost in running their businesses in the Nigerian
space. The ripple effects of this menace are the attendant job losses and a
spike on inflation. In order to mitigate this downward trend, the government
should as a matter of urgency put policies that will urgently end this ugly
development, not to aggravating same with this thoughtless electricity tariff
hike. The manufacturing sector is the driving wheel behind economic boom with
constant and affordable electricity in place, operating in a secured
environment, and not bedeviled with multiple taxation, which has been the clog
on the developmental output of the Nigerian state.
Investors are already counting
their losses, and instead of the government to point their searchlight towards
ending these unpalatable realities, they are rather making the business environment
more hostile and unattractive to the desperately needed direct foreign
investment (DFI) inflow. It is therefore
pertinent to ask in this regard: Of what economic value is this new electricity
tariff hike with over 200% increase?
I hereby urge the government and
NERC in particular, to wear a human face in making adjustment to electricity
tariff. The reality on the ground speak volume of the average Nigerian that can’t
afford sound three square meal a day, and now, the government has added to
their woes without any relief in sight soon to ending the associated pains and
trauma. All arms of government and citizen engagements should be put in place
in order to arriving at a reasonable and acceptable electricity tariff scheme,
should there ever be any intention to hiking the price regime.
This is my humble submission. The recent
electricity tariff hike should be reversed without any delay. It is therefore a
disservice to see those who are supposed to protect you becoming your very
archenemy.
Kind Regards,
Lugard Ekhator,
Benin City.
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