Electricity Consumers To Pay More As Discos Hike Tariffs

Electricity consumers in Nigeria, who are still battling with estimated billing and insufficient power supply, will pay more tariff and cost on meters beginning from this week.

Electricity Distribution companies (DisCos) have, according to checks by New Telegraph , slated February 1 to begin the implementation of 2.5 per cent increase, which had raised Value Added Tax (VAT) on meters to 7.5 per cent.

VAT on tariffs have also been adjusted to accommodate the new 7.5 per cent rate, and service charges on installment meter payments through Meter Assets Provider (MAP) will be reviewed to accommodate the new VAT charge.

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), one of the two major power utility firms in Lagos, commercial hub of Nigeria, confirmed this to this newspaper yesterday, noting that from February 1, the prices of meters sold to customers under the Meter Asset Provider scheme would be reviewed to reflect the increase in VAT recently implemented by the Federal Government.

This, the EKEDC Corporate Communications General Manager, Godwin Idemudia, said in a statement, was in compliance with the 2019 Federal Government’s directive which would see an increase in VAT from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent from the first day of February 2020.

Idemudia further stated that customers should now expect to pay “N39,765.86 (VAT inclusive) for a single-phase meter and N72,085.68 (VAT inclusive) for a three-phase meter.”

The power firm also disclosed that VAT on tariffs have been adjusted to accommodate the new 7.5 per cent rate, and service charges on installment meter payments through MAP will be reviewed to accommodate the new VAT charge.

Meanwhile, the management of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has decried a situation whereby the available power it generates has not been getting to the end-users or final consumers.

Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr. Cheidu Ugbo, who said this in Oke Aro, Ogun State, maintained that his company is collaborating with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Lagos State to find lasting solution to the challenges of stranded power and ensure that such stranded power gets to the final consumers.

According to him, “We have electricity to serve Nigerians, but it is stranded either at power stations or transmission stations like this one, because there are few challenges (which are) why people are not being serviced and the DisCos cannot pick the load from here.

“We are collaborating seriously with the Lagos State government to make sure that this available electricity gets to the end-users.”

He said the project, which includes construction of 132Kv Multi Circuit Transmission Lines, is facing the problem of Way Leave, which means a right of way to be granted by landowners to erect the transmission lines.

“The project has been on, but we have serious Way Leave challenges. We have enlisted the support of Lagos State Government and also Ogun State Government and they are actively trying to assist us to resolve the challenges along the line routes.

“We have come to see, to assess and know where the challenges are. Lagos State Government has a programme and they need to see availability of energy here and ascertain that they can actually take the energy here and make sure it gets to the consumers in Lagos State.