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Tag: electricity tariff

  • Senate kicks against increase in electricity tariff

    Senate kicks against increase in electricity tariff

    • Summons minister, TCN

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Senator Philip Aduda, yesterday said the Senate will not pander to the whims and caprices of the the new investors in the power sector by approving hike in electricity tariff.

    Rather, he said the Upper House would study the proposed tariff increase to ensure that the citizens are not overburdened with high tariff.

    Speaking with journalists during the inauguration of the 33/33/11kV National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) injection sub-station project in Apo, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he said he was yet to receive the proposal to raise electricity tariff from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    He said: “I have not seen it(the proposed tariff increase) yet as they have not brought it to me. When I see it, of course, I will look at it and then I will see, because we can’t continue to overburden Nigerians with various tariffs.”

    Asked what the committee was doing about gas supply to the electricity generation companies, Aduda said the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) was addressing gas supply, adding that it would be handled appropriately.

    He said the committee has summoned the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Don Priestman to appear before it over the challenges of power transmission in the FCT.

    The chairman explained that the megawatts of electricity being generated in the FCT remained stranded as it could not be wheeled to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

    He said: “I am aware that much power is given to the FCT, but unfortunately to evacuate it becomes a problem. With the commissioning of the various sub-stations, I am sure that the evacuation of power and ensuring that power is delivered will be a thing of the past.

    “However, the minister, we must also get our transmission right. We must ensure that those we have saddled with the responsibility of managing our transmission get it right. And we have already invited the minister. We are inviting them to the committee tomorrow (today) because this is our commonwealth and if we give people our commonwealth to manage, we must see to it that it is managed properly. We must look at the protocol between market operators, systems operators.”

    The management of the TCN has been contracted to a Canadian firm, Maintoba Hydro International (MHI).

    The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NPHC), Mr. James Olotu, said the power station has the state-of-the-art equipment.

    He said the station has a switch gear, facilities for two incoming 33KV power line and six outgoing feeders to enable the new owners of AEDC receive reliable and dependable power supply.

    Olotu said the station would increase Abuja Disco service potential to the customers and earn it more revenue for re-investment.

    He said: “Contractually, this project has 12 feeders out of the six. It is therefore the responsibility of the AEDC to increase and connect the remaining four to the network in order to recapture more customers.”

  • Manufacturers condemn planned increase in electricity tariff

    Manufacturers condemn planned increase in electricity tariff

    Manufacturers have condemned the planned increase in electricity tariff, saying there is no justification for the hike when power is unstable.

    Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Goodie Ibru said it was curious government is contemplating such an increase despite the shortcomings of the power sector.

    He said : “It is curious that in the midst of all these shortcomings, electricity tariff is being reviewed upwards, in good conscience government cannot justify increased tariff to epileptic supply. The programmed periodic increase in fixed charge is unfair to electricity consumers and should be reversed. There should be a good balance between the protection of the interest of investors and that of the consumers.”

    The tight credit situation, LCCI said, was inhibiting domestic enterprises from taking advantage of the nation’s robust market. He urged fiscal and monetary authorities to work together to ease the credit conditions for small and medium scale enterprises and more importantly, domestic businesses.

    Ibru reiterated the need to unlock the Nigerian credit market at this critical time, saying it is critical to stem the gradual crowding out of domestic entrepreneurs by foreign investors.

    He said: “The current tightening of monetary policy is inhibiting domestic production and encouraging imports. The outcome of the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) portends even more difficult times for investors in the economy as far as cost of funds is concerned.”

    Ibru deplored the unsatisfactory power situation in the first half of the year, saying manufacturer’s expenditure on diesel and petrol was unbearable because it impacted negatively on investment over the last six months. This, he said, led to declining productivity and competiveness.

    LCCI Director-General Muda Yusuf frowned at what he called government’s concentration on micro economic issues such as the touted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the economy.

    He argued that real economic growth should be measured by the operating environment made possible by the ease of doing business and the needed infrastructure by manufacturers.

    Quoting from World Bank sources, he stated that the nation still remains a difficult terrain for businesses in terms of operating modalities obtainable by developed economies, job creation and employment generation.

    He insisted that the domestic and international issues facing the oil and gas sector pose both risks and opportunities for the economy. According to him, the greatest risk is the potential shock to fiscal sustainability if the global oil price slumps under the current challenges confronting the ability of the nation to expand oil output.

    On the imperative of economic diversification, Yusuf said realities in the economy underscores the urgent need to diversify the economy especially power, the railways, and the road network. He said all these are critical to enhancing manufacturing, agriculture, ICT, services and downstream oil and gas. He called for the improvement of institutions and the policy environment in order to attract more private capital both from within and outside country.

    Besides, he stressed the need for he called on the government to raise standards of business ethics in the country to contain some negative behaviours by certain class of businessmen. He listed some of the concerns of manufacturers to include smuggling, product faking and counterfeiting, under invoicing to evade duty payment, tax invasion, and concealment of items in containers by importers, piracy of creative works and wanton violation of intellectual property rights.

  • Falana urges govt to reduce electricity tariff

    A lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has urged the Federal Government to reduce electricity tariff and decentralise power generation and distribution.

    He said: “In a mid-term report released barely a week ago, the Goodluck Jonathan administration claimed to have performed well. “It gave itself a pass mark in electricity supply. But as soon as the official celebration of deception was over, the country was enveloped in darkness. The disgraceful development was confirmed by the Federal Government, which admitted that 120 million Nigerians have no access to electricity. Two days later, the remaining 47million Nigerians, who are said to have access to electricity, were subjected to system collapse to the extent that electricity supply has fallen below 2,000 megawatts from 4,000 megawatts. The situation has become so embarrassing that President Jonathan has set up a panel to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the system collapse in the energy sector.

    “Having repeatedly said that it would never probe the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, which spent $16 billion to generate darkness in eight years, it is clear that the panel will not be allowed to get to the root of the energy crisis.

    “What is the basis of the probe when it is common knowledge that a cabal of importers of generators, spare parts and diesel, in collusion with official collaborators, have always sabotaged the energy sector?

    “The Federal Government should not waste scarce resources on another panel whose recommendations would be consigned to the archives. Since there are security forces in the country, they should be mobilised to prevent the so-called evil forces from stealing and vandalising electrical equipment and installations.

    “In addition, the Federal Government should decentralise the generation and distribution of electricity without delay. State and local governments should play a dominant role in the ongoing privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which is a part of our collective patrimony.

    “Having admitted that Nigerians have been put in darkness, the Federal Government should reduce electricity tariffs by 50 per cent. The proposed tariff should be retained until there is substantial improvement in electricity supply.

    “After all, billions of Naira are daily wasted on the purchase and maintenance of generators as well as diesel by governments, corporate bodies and individuals throughout the country. It is high time Nigerians kicked against bearing the brunt of official incompetence and negligence.”