THE electricity tariff in the country will not necessarily go up by 88 per cent as being speculated. Rather, the new rates expected to become effective by May, may inch up by 11 per cent, the Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji, has assured.However, a differential tariff regime may replace the current rates, which would specifically be graduated in favour of the lower income people.'In fact, the urban poor and rural dwellers as well as artisans like welders who perform vital economic functions will experience no significant adjustment,' Nnaji said.He explained 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 N60 billion subsidy this year and the N50 billion subsidy 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 the government subsidy is expected to end, the less affluent in society would continue to enjoy subsidy, 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 less than 50watts a month are considered less privileged and are known as R(Residential) one 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 in 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 wouldcome down.'The tariff being proposed', he said, 'is based on 4,500 MW and it will come down considerably when we begin to generate 7000MW and above'.Nnaji assured the Senators that '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 off. 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 any thing near the 'current cost of using diesel-powered generators which, in addition, pollute the environment and kills people'.He pointed out that NERC has abolished the monthly payment of service charge and meter maintenance fee, which the Power Holding Company (PHCN) had imposed on every customer.
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