By Abiola Olawale
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Proton Energy, Mr Oti Ikomi has backed the federal government on the recent announcement of the reduction of electricity tariff for customers in the Band A classification.
The energy expert applauded the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for its commendable initiative, saying that this bold move will significantly enhance the trust of the citizens in the commission.
The New Diplomat reports that on Monday, the NERC announced its decision to review the electricity tariff of Band A customers. In a statement signed by its management, the commission said the customers of Band A will now pay N206.8/kWh, reducing N18.20 from the initial tariff of N225/kWh earlier announced.
NERC said the decision was reached after a thorough review of the macroeconomic parameters and exchange rate appreciations.
Speaking on the development, Mr Ikomi asserted that the reduction in electricity prices is a significant breakthrough, particularly as it challenged the conventional belief that prices in Nigeria never go down.
Speaking during an interview session with CNBC Africa, Ikomi said the prices will continue to fall when there is a significant change in the exchange rate, inflation rate, and gas prices.
He also urged Nigerians to keep faith in the process, saying that the challenges would soon be over.
He said: “It is not a wild celebration but it is a positive trajectory. I think we must commend the NERC, we don’t see too many cases in recent times of prices coming down in the nation. These have been very challenging times for the country in the past year.
“There are a lot of very good moving parts in the electricity industry, specifically what has changed is that the Band A tariff has come down by about 8% down to N206/kWh from about N225/kWh that it was a month ago. The earlier exchange rate that was used was N1463/$1, the one that is now used is N1227/$1. There are other indices, there are things such as the Nigeria inflation rate which is largely constant, the US inflation rate, and of course there was a change in gas prices. But the key change is the exchange rate, and it has now reflected positively for Band A customers.
“This is like a minor review, if any of the key factors, the exchange rate, the inflation rate, the gas price et.al changes then there would be a minor review. It would be very politically naive if there is going to be any increase. I will be expecting this downward review to continue.
“All of us as consumers, yes we are feeling the pain, but if you are in Band A anywhere in the country and you are not getting 20 hours a day you have the right to challenge them.
“You can track whether you have 20 hours of electricity per day, and every disco has a rapid response team that you can complain to. After two days of not getting it, you can complain and if after seven days you still don’t get it they should take you from Band A to Band B, that is the regulation.”
