The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Friday has confirmed the removal of electricity subsidies by the Federal Government indicating that the citizens would now bear the full cost going forward.
While addressing a news conference in Abuja on Friday morning, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr Sanusi Garba, revealed that the review was conducted in line with multi-year tariff order that mandates that electricity tariff be reviewed every six months.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the NERC’s confirmation is coming at a time the nation continues to confront an energy crisis amid petrol queues, rising diesel costs and national grid collapses.
Mr Garba said it is the duty of electricity distribution companies to inform their customers of tariff review outcomes and cost of power.
He blamed the poor state of electricity supply and grid collapses on vandalism of gas pipelines to power plants, plants maintenance and a trip on the 330KV line from Ughelli power plant.
Africa Daily News, New York had recently reported that Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had provided insight as to how the Federal Government managed to quietly remove the subsidy on electricity tariff.
According to her, the government had to carefully adjust the prices incrementally at some levels while also pointing out that the same measures would be applied to PMS in the nearest future.
Ahmed pointed out that the amendment of the budget was ongoing to accommodate the incremental removal of fuel subsidy. The theme of the meeting was ‘The political economy of fiscal reforms’.
She said fuel subsidy remained a huge problem for the government as it had thrown up deficits more than what was planned. She noted that the rise in global oil prices would worsen the issue ‘but the current review that we are doing is to hold the subsidy at the level in which it is planned,’ she said.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
