The Minister of Power, Prof Bart Nnaji, has said that the electricity tariff in Nigeria will not go up by 88 per cent.

Speaking today before the Senate Committee on Power, the Minister said that recent media reports claiming that all electricity consumers would increase on April 1, by almost double are not factual.

“In fact, the urban poor and rural dwellers as well as artisans like welders who perform vital economic functions will experience no significant adjustment.”

He said that a substantial percentage of people living in towns and cities would not pay much higher because they are “among beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N60billion subsidy this year and the N50billion next year.”

The minister argued that certain classes of electricity consumers are subsidised throughout the world, calling electricity “a critical need, rather than a mere want, of the people, especially in the modern times.”

Nnaji revealed that by 2014, when government subsidy is expected to end, the less affluent in the society would continue to enjoy subsidy, but this time, with the subsidy paid by the rich and other heavy electricity end users.

He rejected suggestions that the planned introduction of different tariffs across the country would be abused by some wealthy people claiming to be poor so that they could pay less bills.

“The tariff will be determined by the wattage consumed by each customer,” he said, explaining that “those who consume those less than 50watts a month are considered less privileged and are known as R1 (Residential) customers.

We have 14 classes of consumers.” He noted that the new tariff was originally scheduled to start on January 1, as provided in the Multi Year Tariff Order, MYTO, which came into effect five years ago, but would now begin next May, to allow for more improvements in power supply and greater public enlightenment on the ongoing reform of the power sector.

Comparing the situation to what happened with the telephone sector where the tariff reduced with time, the minister observed that the electricity tariff would also come down. “The tariff being proposed is based on 4,500Megawatts, and it will come down considerably when we begin to generate 7000MW and above.”

Nnaji assured the senators that the “much as the existing tariff has to be adjusted to attract both local and foreign investments in the power sector, the government has a duty to ensure that the people of Nigeria are not exploited.

“We devised an amortisation plan of 15 years, so that the people are not ripped; the power sector in Nigeria should not be for those who want hot money.”

Also addressing the senators, the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr Sam Amadi, said that even with the proposed increase in the tariff paid by heavy electricity users, it would still be far cheaper than the cost of generation.

He said that the heavy consumers currently pay between N35 and N50 per kilowatt hour when they self generate, but would not pay anything near the “current cost of using diesel-powered generators, which, in addition, pollute the environment and kills people.”

He said that NERC has abolished the monthly payment of service charge and meter maintenance fees, which the Power Holding Company, PHCN, had imposed on customers.

Amadi disclosed that NERC would soon resume its interactive sessions with market leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to protect the interests of both electricity investors and consumers.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Phillip Aduda, advised the minister and the agencies under him to engage in a more aggressive campaign to inform the people that their interests are not being neglected by the government.