Accept new tariff increase or face total blackout, FG tells Nigerians

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said this on Monday while he also issued a warning that failure to implement the tariff hike will lead to total blackout in Nigeria in the next three months.

READ ALSO: List of Lagos areas on Band A to enjoy 20hrs electricity

Adelabu on behalf of FG made this disclosure in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power.

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The committee is currently conducting an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff increase carried out by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The Senate Committee on Power led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe following its rejection of the new tariff regime decided to conduct an investigative hearing.

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“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 said.

“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”

NERC earlier this month fixed N225 Kilowatt per hour for about 15 percent electricity customers, who are in a new band A category.

READ ALSO: List of Lagos areas on Band D to enjoy 8hrs electricity

Announcing this in Abuja, NERC Vice Chairman, Musliu Oseni said the increase would not affect bands B to E, adding that the number of customers who were previously on band A have been downgraded.

According to him, the commission approved the increase in electricity tariff paid by Band A customers from N68/KWh to N225/KWh, adding that the increase will not affect customers on bands B and C.

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Oseni said that the increase only affects about 15 per cent electricity consumers who have been proven to enjoy 20 hours power supply daily.