Abuja — Dr Sam Amadi, the Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has denied reports of a new  increase in electricity tariff.

He said in a statement yesterday in Abuja that the commission had noted the public reactions to  the“little increase in electricity tariff,” which took effect from July 1.

Amadi explained that the commission had not reviewed the existing tariff, but rather, “the slight  adjustment from N8.50 to N10 from July 1, 2011 is part of MYTO that came into effect in 2008”.

He said that the slight increase was a normal routine backed by the provisions of Section 76 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005, making it possible for the electricity tariff to auto-adjust

itself to reflect the current cost of gas and general inflation’’.

Amadi said the routine adjustment should not be misinterpreted as price review by the commission.
“It must be understood that NERC has not reviewed the cost of electricity. Currently, we are  consulting widely with stakeholders, including sector experts, academia, organised labour and civil  society organisations.

“We are to have contributions from the generality of Nigerians on how to move the sector forward.”

He said the commission  appreciated the concern expressed by Nigerians over the issue of raising the  price of electricity without a corresponding effecient service delivery.

The chairman said the commission had directed utilities providers to improve their services to justify  the latest adjustment in tariff.

He noted that as part of efforts to boost generation, the commission had decided to bring the Niger  Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) under strict regulatory control to ensure scheduled delivery  of its projects.

Amadi promised that  the intervention would improve electricity supply and customer service,which would allow for prudent investment in the electricity sector, and provide some incentives to consumers.

He added  that the era of waste and corruption was over with the new policy.