An unexpected turn of events occurred on Monday when the power supply was abruptly cut off while the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, was addressing the National Assembly.
Adelabu participated in a Senate Committee on Power hearing where he answered questions from senators regarding the rising electricity prices.
Power was restored in less than five minutes.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe, expressed his concerns regarding the minister’s statement on the stability of electricity in the country, suggesting that it had implications.
He exclaimed, “You see what just happened.” This is a universal experience that resonates with everyone. We Senators also go through this, and I believe even the President experiences it at the Villa. However, he is unable to voice it like we can.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, on April 3, approved a significant increase of 340% in the electricity tariff for customers classified under Band A.
The NERC’s Vice Chairman, Musliu Oseni, has announced that there will be an increase in the cost of electricity for Band A customers. The new rate will be N225 per kilowatt hour, which is a significant increase from the current rate of N66.
NERC states that B and A customers receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
Additional investigations uncovered that this particular group of customers accounts for 15 percent of the total 12 million electricity customers in Nigeria.
The NERC Vice Chairman, however, made it clear that customers on the other bands would not be affected by the review.
The Senate had requested the Minister’s presence to address the recent tariff and provide a justification for the increase.