Electricity consumers seek DisCos tariff audit

Electricity consumers have urged the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Power, Commerce, Delegated Legislation and National Planning to audit the tariffs paid to power distribution companies across Nigeria.

The group, under the aegis of the Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, made this request in a letter of commendation sent to the House of Representatives for ordering the reversal of the Band A tariff.

According to the letter signed by the ECPAC Executive Director, Princewill Okorie, other affiliate organisations like the Association for Public Policy Analysis and the Electricity Safety Vanguard commended the resolution of the reversal of electricity tariff for what was termed “unconstitutionally created Band A customers” of the DisCos.

Having participated in a public hearing organised by the House on the Band A tariff hike, the group stated, “We are happy to see that the House of Representatives considered the welfare and well-being of Nigerians over self-interest and promotion of unconscionable capitalist tendencies of business operators in the power sector in deciding to reverse the unpatriotic policy of electricity tariff hike.

“By this act, the committees have proved that the 10th House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is actually the people’s representatives,” the letter partly read.

The group assured the House of Representatives Committee on Power of its support as non-state actors in the area of data collation and enumeration to help in identifying the number of electricity consumers in the country, the number of metered and unmetered consumers, and the investment of the DisCos in the sector.

It also planned to identify the investments of Federal, State and Local Governments, and those of consumer groups in electricity infrastructure such as transformers, cables, wires, and meters.

“We urge the House of Representatives to pass a resolution that will make the Ministry of Power carry out an audit on payments to DisCos by metered and unmetered consumers residing in urban and rural areas.

“Considering the fact that data is a very good instrument for planning and decision-making in the power sector, it would be economically and administratively wrong to discuss the increase in tariff without establishing basic facts that surveys and audits as recommended above will provide.

“We urge the executive arm of the Federal and State Governments to ensure that the resolution of the House of Representatives for the reversal of the tariff increase is enforced for the benefit of Nigerian electricity consumers,” the group noted.

The House of Representatives last week asked the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and the DisCos to reverse the tariff hike for Band A customers immediately.

The chairman of the committee, Victor Nwokolo, who presented the report, stated that Nigerians could not afford the new tariff.

However, the NERC said it was not aware of the resolution asking it to reverse the Band A tariff.

Band A customers pay about N209 per kilowatt-hour of electricity following the removal of the subsidy.