On May 29, 2023, when the mantle of leadership was handed over to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he announced, through a presidential fiat, that fuel subsidy was gone. And, without much consultations, it has come to pass. And today, Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, sells for between N617, N730 and N800 per litre.
That was not all. The Naira was also floated. As a result, it depreciated and fell to an all-time low causing serious inflation and the consequent pauperization of the citizenry.
In the same manner, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Management Commission, NERC, jacked up tariff rate for consumers of electricity on band “A” who, according to the Commission, make up only 15% of Nigeria’s total population yet consume about 40% of the electricity distributed by the Distribution Companies, DISCOs, in the country.
However, it should be noted that in the last eight years, electricity tariffs have increased by over 168%. This has led Nigerians to pay between N16 and N31 kilowatt per hour (kWh) in 2015 to between N55 kWh to N71 kWh and in 2024 N225kWh, depending on the tariff class.
Yet, these increases have not solved the challenges bedeviling the sector. The supply gaps remain so huge that the country’s homes and commercial and industrial sectors rely on self-generated power.
Small-scale businesses, such as boutiques, cyber cafes, salons, tailoring and grocery shops, which are mostly serviced by small-scale petrol generators, are some of the most affected.
Sadly, the DISCOs, whose responsibility it is to supply the consumers, have hardly lived up to expectations. For the most part, they have reneged on some of the provisions in the agreement they entered into with government on the sale of various distribution networks in the country.
As part of the agreement, they were required to retool the power distribution equipment and facilities in their jurisdictions in order to improve service delivery to customers. But cases abound where it is the customers that often purchase transformers, poles and undertake other repairs like wiring the distribution networks with little or no input from the DISCOs.
Second, the DISCOs are required by law to provide meters to every consumer in order to justify the supply of power and billing system. But even with the resolution of the National Assembly compelling them to implement this provision in their operating agreement, the they have hardly complied.
Besides, the frequent collapse of the national grid has become a source of worry to consumers. According to ESI Africa, the continent’s leading power and energy journal, in the last nine years, Nigeria’s national electricity grid has collapsed more than 200 times, resulting in widespread blackouts.
In 2022, the national electricity grid collapsed 17 times. It collapsed three consecutive times – September 14, 19 and December 11 – in 2023. In 2024, 6 collapses have so far been recorded.
These are indeed dire and incredibly frustrating situations that need to be urgently addressed by the government so as to curb the already bad environment for a people who are struggling to make ends meet. What with the infrastructural decay without concrete commitment on the part of government to address them?
As a matter of fact, the high cost of food and the general cost of living does not warrant the sudden rise in electricity tariff which is a very important component in the manufacturing sector.
On their part, the people need to organize themselves in such a manner that government would be forced to take measures to mitigate their pains. Government must build institutions that would stand the test of time in the fight against corruption and other vices.
The media should also be effectively utilized to bring to the fore activities of those saddled with the responsibilities of running the affairs of the state.
And now that electricity generation has been decentralized, state governments and other non-state players should capitalize on the other abundant sources of power that nature has endowed our country.
These sources, such as wind and the sun, also have the advantage of being clean and environmentally friendly. Abia State has blazed the trail through the establishment of the Geometric Power Plant, Osisioma.
*(AN EDITORIAL OF THE NIGERIA STANDARD NEWSPAPER, April 24, 2024)