No going back on electricity tariff hike, Fashola insists

The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Tuesday, restated the position of Federal Government not to back down on the increase in electricity tariff in the country.

Fashola, during a public hearing at the Senate explained that though the National Assembly has empowered the National Electrical Regulatory Commission (NERC) to fix tariff in the country.

It would be recalled that the Senate at plenary in February this year asked the Minister, NERC as well as electricity distribution companies to immediately suspend the new electricity tariff that have seen charges raised by over 40 per cent.

The Senate also directed its Committee to hold a public hearing to get the views of stakeholders on the electricity tariff hike and how to move the sector forward.

Officials from the labour unions in the electricity sector, who also attended the hearing, voiced their displeasure at the increase and noted that they were not consulted before the decision to increase tariff was made.

The Minister, however, insisted that the increase in electricity tariff is unavoidable if the country must enjoy steady power supply.

On its part, the Senate insisted that the Federal Government needs to urgently address some critical problems in the power sector.

Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Minister of Works, Power and Housing, insisted that government is not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, “but the hike in electricity tariff without a reciprocal increase in electricity supply in many areas in the country is a bitter pill for many Nigerians to swallow”, he added.