Minister of Works, Power and Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has appealed to Nigerians to bear the pains of the new increase in electricity tariff, saying it is a bitter pill Nigerians should try to swallow for the country’s interest and growth.
Fashola, who had a meeting with operators in power sector in Lagos yesterday and inspected ongoing works at the Alagbon Local 2x15MVA, 33/11 KV injection substation in Ikoyi, told reporters that the right thing should have been to increase the power before the tariff.
But he said unfortunately, it was not possible considering the rot the President Muhammadu Buhari administration met on ground. He assured electricity consumers that they would get value for their money, adding that the electricity distribution companies (Discos) have been directed to “significantly improve service delivery”.
Besides, the 10-year tariff order would from the next two years begin to come down, he added.
His words: “I understand that people who have been disappointed over a long time will feel the sense of concern that again tariff has gone up. But the truth is that this tariff ought to have been there from day one, and I don’t know why government of yesterday was not courageous enough to tell us this was the tariff. This is why you have this MYTO (multi-year-tariff-order) every two years. So, they (past governments) have given the impression that the price of power will increase every two years.
“What we have done now with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is to give a 10-year tariff. In that tariff, about two years from now, it will begin to go down. Whatever price the tariff offers now, is a lot cheaper than diesel, inverter and petrol generation. My relations also ask me, minister, what is this? So, I’m not an exempt. It is a painful pill that I must appeal that Nigerians swallow. It is like quinine and malaria. It is painful, not sweet, and I know that, but I chose it because we are not left with many choices. This is the first major decision in power that this administration is taking. Another problem is transmission; and we are fixing it.”
Fashola stated that people were not interested in investing in gas.
“But they are just beginning to show interest. So, even if you have all the power plants, where is the fuel? So, it will get better. And I can only appeal for some understanding that we do this in the best interest of our country.
“We have to improve certain deliveries and that is why we have these meetings with the Discos. They have to roll out meters, install lines and transformers, among others,” he said.
He said: “I know the question on every Nigerian lips are why we can’t have power first before tariff increase? I wish we could do that, but if Nigerians understood that power business is funded from finance from banks, and no bank will lend money to you if you can’t show a recovery price.
“So that is the reason we cannot have power first before tariff increase, it has to be produced before we have it, and it has to be paid for.”