Electricity: FG insists on tariff hike as Labour threatens showdown

The Federal Government on Sunday criticized organized labor for opposing the increase in electricity tariffs and the elimination of the sector’s subsidy. The 

Florence Eke, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, told reporters in Abuja that the Minister of Power’s reasoning for the energy pricing hike during the Senate public hearing last Monday was still legitimate.

She stated that the government was not “following the lead of trade unions” on the subject of electricity tariffs.

According to her, the load of the electricity subsidies was too high for the government to handle and was unsustainable.

Eke made this statement in the context of organized labor’s two-week ultimatum to reverse the electricity pricing rise.

However, on Sunday, the Trade Union Congress persisted in the two-week deadline it gave the Federal Government to repeal the levy.

Additionally, Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, criticized the tariff increase.

According to him, the government cannot impose tariffs in a deregulated market.

The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed the rise in the electricity tariff for Band A consumers at a press briefing in Abuja on April 3, stating that those impacted will pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the previous cost of N68/kWh, a 240% increase.

The electricity subsidy was removed from the tariffs of Band A customers, who accounted for around 15% of the country’s total 12.82 million power consumers.

The Federal Government estimated that the tariff hike would save N1.5 trillion.

The government announced that the decision went into effect on April 3, 2024 and that Band A subscribers will receive up to 20 hours of power per day.

However, the House of Representatives, organized labour, and the Nigerian Bar Association all opposed the pricing increase, which would affect around 1.9 million users.

The House requested that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission immediately suspend the statewide implementation of the new electricity rate.

However, during an investigative session before the Senate Committee on Power last Monday, the power minister explained that if the electricity tariff rise was not enforced, there would be a nationwide blackout within the next three months.

This came after the Senate Committee, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, rejected the proposed tariff regime.

“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now for the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs.

“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians. We are also feeling the impact,’’ Adelabu asserted

However, the NLC and TUC requested that the NERC and power sector operators reverse the rise in electricity tariffs within a week, despite their discontent with the country’s epileptic power status, which they claim is harming economic growth.

Speaking at the International Workers Day commemoration in Abuja on May 1, NLC President Ajaero and his TUC colleague Festus Osifo said, “It is unethical to force Nigerians to pay higher tariffs for non-existent electricity. Estimated billing is an extortion and daylight robbery against Nigerians.”