Labour, private sector protest as Discos hike tariff again

The Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, and Organised Private Sector, on Wednesday, faulted the latest hike in the electricity tariff payable by customers in the Band A Category.

Following the depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar, and inflation, among other factors, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission again raised the tariff payable by Band A customers.

On Wednesday, some distribution companies including Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, among others, announced an upward review of their tariffs for Band A from N206.80 per kilowatt-hour to N209.50/kWh.

Though the increase appears marginal, organised labour, private sector operators and consumers kicked against it.

They wondered why the power sector regulator would approve a tariff hike despite calls for the reversal of the previous tariff hike.

In a statement, the acting General Manager of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Francis Agoha, said the review was duly approved by NERC as captured in the multi-year tariff supplementary order.

Agoha said the adjustment was necessitated by several key economic indices, including fluctuations in the exchange rate, the current inflation rate, available generation capacity, and the cost of gas.