Nigerian Coalition Kicks Against Electricity Tariff Hike, Asks Tinubu Government To End Privatisation 

The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) has faulted the recently announced increase in electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Titled: “Outrageous Tariff Hike Amidst Growing Cost Of Living Is Insensitive Trade Unions And Pro-Masses Organisations Should Lead Resistance Against Tariff Hike,” the group called on the leadership of organised labour and leaders of pro-masses organisations to mobilise workers and community people for a struggle to resist both the current and planned electricity tariff hike.

While condemning the incessant increase in tariffs on essential commodities and public utilities by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, CARE said that the Tariff hike was discriminatory while demanding reversal.

“Electricity for industries and many businesses in Nigeria reportedly constitutes 40% or more of the total cost compared to 10% in China. This huge cost is one major reason many companies closed down and relocated abroad contributing to a high unemployment rate,” the group lamented.

“Hence, it is not true that the outrageous tariff hike for Band A will exclusively affect the rich and middle class, it will also affect workers and the poor. This anti-poor Tinubu-led government is all out to protect the profit and greed of a few while it cares less about Nigerian workers and the poor.

“Besides, the agenda is also to create an apartheid-styled electricity distribution system entrenched in massive exploitation. This means communities dominated by the middle class and the rich get 20 hours or more electricity daily while communities dominated by workers and the poor get little or no electricity daily.

“In this type of unfair, discriminative electricity supply, Band A which constitutes about 15% may get about 50% or more of the electricity supply while 85% of the other consumers may get less than 50% of the electricity supplied.”

According to the group, the power sector was built and funded by Nigerian taxpayers which include Nigerian workers and the poor but regrettably, “it is now a case of robbing Peter (workers/poor) to pay Paul (the rich)”. It maintained that “every Nigerian deserves equal, affordable and uninterrupted power supply irrespective of social status.”

The coalition insisted that if All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration was sincere, it could tax the rich progressively more than the workers but “social amenities like education, healthcare, electricity among others, must be distributed equally to all”.

The statement partly read: “The outrageous tariff hike for Band A is coming after some months NERC increased tariffs for some other Bands. Customers in Abuja are now forced to pay N63.24/kWh; some customers in the states covered by Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc (EEDC) will pay N59/kWh; tariff for some customers within Ikeja Electric coverage will pay N56.60/kWh; some customers with Benin Electricity Distribution will pay N60.10/kWh. Across the 11 Distribution Companies, the increment ranges from N55/kWh to N63/kWh, which is an average of N60/kWh and represents an average of 20%.

“These tariff hikes are coming at a period of immense economic crises and growing poverty; they will also engender more financial hardship, inflation, and an increase in the growing cost of production and services while more people will be disconnected due to their inability to pay the new tariff.

“On January 17, 2024, NERC’s chairman, Sanusi Garba stated publicly that the federal government is still paying subsidies on electricity consumption despite the recent tariff hikes and that the federal government have agreed to pay N1.6 trillion as subsidies in 2024.

“According to Sanusi Garba, the cost-reflective tariff for Ikeja Electric customers is N112.10/kWh while the government is paying N55.50/kWh and customers are to pay N56.60. For Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the government would pay N58.12/kWh while customers are to pay N63.24/kWh.

“In April 2024, the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu said the subsidy being paid by the federal government is N2.9 trillion and the subsidy has to be phased out within 3 years. The implication is that the outrageous tariff hike announced for Band A consumers is to test the waters and more hikes await consumers on other Bands until the so-called cost-reflective pricing is achieved.

“As long as the Naira is weak, basic infrastructure is either absent or in a terrible state, lack of investment in critical sectors, characteristic greed and drive for super profit means that power companies in connivance with the capitalist government will continuously increase electricity tariffs after phasing out the so-called subsidy.

“It is clear there is manipulation of subsidy figures and Nigerian working masses should not believe the outrageous figures being brandished. NERC’s chairman, Sanusi Garba said the subsidy for 2024 is N1.6 trillion while the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu said it is N2.9 trillion. Any subsidy declared by the private power companies, NERC and the Ministry of Power is not unreliable.

“Just like the petrol subsidy, the ‘electricity subsidy’ is characterized by corruption, jumbo salaries and allowances for top executives, wastages, high cost of gas etc. Besides, one of NERC’s reasons for incessant tariff hikes since 2016 is the high exchange rate of Naira to the dollar. Yet, the same government continuously devalues the Naira and at the same time fraudulently uses it to justify the hike in electricity tariff and petrol price. This is indicative of an insensitive government whose preoccupation is to constantly attack living standards.”

It added, “In the same vein, gas for power generation is produced in Nigeria but it is dollarized and expensive. Nigerian working people must reject and resist being forced to pay international market prices on products (gas, petroleum products etc.) and services Nigeria has comparative advantages over.

“What the power sector has been known for since the privatization in 2013 is incessant tariff hikes and widespread darkness. Electricity system collapse has become so frequent; between January 2024 and March 2024, the national grid has collapsed 5 times, throwing the entire county into darkness. In September 2023 alone, 3 grid collapses were recorded within 5 days. On December 12, 2023, the national grid collapsed from 4,000MW to 43MW.

“This is an indication of the failure of the privatization programme. In 10 years and 5 months, there have been 9 electricity tariff hikes and the tariff increased by at least 350%. For Band A consumers, the tariff has been increased by over 1,700% while the income of the masses has fallen due to rising inflation.

“Despite privatisation, the government has lavished over 2 trillion Naira bailing out private power companies out of which 5 Distribution Companies have failed already, necessitating a government takeover. Before privatization, the self-serving capitalist ruling elite presented privatization as the magic wand but it is now very clear that the whole privatization programme was an agenda to make a set of privileged super-rich individuals at the expense of the vast majority of Nigerians.

“Since privatisation, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity is at an average of 3800MW out of the installed capacity of about 13,000MW while 80 million Nigerians, mostly from the rural areas, are yet to be connected to the national grid. This is a monumental failure for privatization and the Nigerian capitalist ruling elite.

“Given the obvious failure of privatization, there is an urgent need to re-nationalise the power sector, bring it under public ownership and be subject to democratic control and management of the working masses with the view to ushering in massive public investment that will drive the cost of electricity down and making it affordable in the long run for most Nigerian consumers while electricity consumed by the poorest is subsidised.”