New Tariff Will Attract Power Sector Investments – NERC
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said the recently reviewed service reflective tariff would attract more investments to the power sector.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. James Momoh, who said this in Abuja during a working visit to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, stated that with the tariffs, investors in the sector would be able to recoup their investments.
The NERC introduced an increased service reflective tariff in September this year, which was later adjusted downwards by the Federal Government after protests by labour unions.
The tariffs, which vary according to the number of hours of electricity supplied to a customer, took effect recently after labour and government agreed on its implementation. At the headquarters of the AEDC on Tuesday, Momoh said, “The gaps that have been identified, especially with respect to tariff, are issues that the entire commission has been having sleepless nights about and working day in and out on.
“We hope that at the end of the day, the commission will take the credit that it is during our tenure that we are able to ensure that the sector is equipped such that people can come to Nigeria to invest because they can now recover money for their investments.”
Momoh said the commission had realised that customers need service based tariff commensurate with quantum of electricity consumed.
The NERC boss also urged power firms and the AEDC to deploy advanced technologies to cater for the electricity needs of their customers.
“You (AEDC) need to have the technology that will detect faults before they happen, a new technology that will help detect if a fault is imminent and provide control action to halt electrocution and all similar incidents within your network,” he stated.
In his address, the Managing Director, AEDC, Ernest Mupwaya, said the implementation of service reflective tariff in the sector would enhance power delivery across the country.
He noted that the sector was currently moving towards a scenario where power operations and activities would work better, as tariff issues had been addressed to some extent.
