The Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, announced that the Federal Government intends to keep subsidizing electricity for Nigerians to ensure stable and reliable supply.
He made this statement during the Ministerial Press Briefing Series organized by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Abuja.
Adelabu clarified that the recent tariff increase only affected a small percentage of the country’s population, with the majority of Nigerians still benefiting from the government’s subsidy.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had raised the tariff for Band A customers from N68/KWh to N225/KWh. Band A customers are those who receive electricity supply for 20 hours per day.
He added that out of the approximately 12 million customers in the sector, only about 1.5 million would be affected by the tariff increase. The remaining 10.5 million customers, which is almost 70% of the population, will continue to enjoy the government’s subsidy.
Adelabu explained that the government was subsidizing the cost of producing and transmitting electricity in the country by more than 50% before the tariff increase, and that the decision not to migrate to a fully cost-reflective tariff or remove the subsidy entirely was due to the government’s sensitivity to the current hardships faced by Nigerians.
He further stated that the removal of subsidy would be a gradual process, transitioning from a subsidy regime to a full cost-reflective tariff regime over a period of three years.