Last week, the two chambers of the National Assembly, spoke in unison against what appears to be an attempt by the electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOS) to impose yet another tax on the people of Nigeria. In two separate motions that emphasized the latest street lingo; ‘let the poor breathe,’ the two chambers rejected the ploy by the DISCOS to invite Nigerians to some deadly dance steps in the disco hall.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which made public the intention of the 11 DISCOS, said that the distribution companies claimed that the planned review was pursuant to Section 116 (1) and 2(a&b) of the Electricity Act 2023 and that the review “is premised on the need to incorporate changes in macroeconomic parameters and other factors affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.”
The DISCOS’ claim also indicated that: “The request for rate review is premised on the need to incorporate changes in macroeconomic parameters and other factors affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.”
NERC, then submitted that it would subject the request for “rate review” to a “rate-case hearing” as part of its “rule-making” process.
With what has gone by in recent years, not a few Nigerians would agree with me that the NERC was merely speaking grammar with all the needless rhetorical somersaults.
The general claim by the DISCOS is that the under the 2022 Multi-Year-Tariff-Order (MYTO), the previously set exchange rate of N441/$1, would have to be reviewed to meet the approximately N750/$1 or more, currently in operation.
The long and short of what they are saying is that the distribution companies plan to hike their rates. That, coming on the heels of the galloping pump price of petroleum products, and the crumbling Naira, would not only choke but liquidate many Nigerians. It would simply amount to capping the source of oxygen and expecting more than 150 million citizens to exist on carbon dioxide.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, as if taking a cue from the two Labour centres, the NLC and TUC, immediately put two motions to debate.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, via a motion sponsored by Hon. Afuape Moruf, the member representing Abeokuta South Federal Constituency of Ogun State, urged the NERC to stop the planned tariff hike. Afuape submitted that despite the fact that consumers pay for their meters, cables, and transformers, the DISCOS still have the temerity to disconnect them at will.
He also said that notwithstanding the poor service delivery by the DISCOS, they have been generating huge income year-on-year.
The Honourable member told his colleagues: “The Distribution Companies raked in a whopping N247.33 billion in the first quarter of 2023 as against N232.32 billion generated in the fourth quarter of 2022, representing a rise by 20.81 per cent compared to N204.74 billion generated first Quarter of 2022 (year-on-year consideration).
“Whereas electricity supply declined from 5,956 (Gwh) in the first quarter of 2022 to 5,852 (Gwh), first quarter of 2023 (year-on-year consideration), despite the increase in earnings; the distribution companies have demonstrated unfaithfulness toward the social contract with Nigerians, as enshrined and enhanced by the transitional effect of the Electric Power Reform Act, 2005 to the Electricity Act, 2023.
“NERC has watched helplessly while communities, individuals, and corporate organisations assumed the responsibilities of providing electricity transmission facilities (meters, cables, and transformers) where they are either not available or repaired, where the same are faulty.”
In a similar motion, this time moved by the Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District, Senator Akintunde Yunus Abiodun, and co-sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) and Senator Abbas Aminu Iya (Adamawa Central), the Senate resolved to ask the Federal Government to stop the planned tariff hike by the DISCOS.
“Senate accordingly resolves to call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to intervene and halt the proposed increase in electricity tariff by the Distribution Companies (Discos), the motion reads, adding that the DISCOS’ application to NERC should take the interests of the citizens to account.
The lawmakers also urged the NERC to stop estimated billing and compel DISCOS to provide meters to all customers.
Going by the statistics available, it is clear that the Federal Government and the NERC have been indulging the DISCOS since they successfully took over the supply of electricity at the lower rung of the supply chain.
It is strange to see that electricity customers in a country of 200 million people only stand at 11.27 million and out of that only 5.31 million are metered.
Stranger still, though the volume of power supply decreased over time, the amount of cash generated by the DISCOS has been on the increase. This justifies the general claim that under the DISCOS, Nigerians have merely been paying for darkness.
It is equally strange that some staff of electricity companies are never enthusiastic to meter their customers. They often discourage you when you attempt to. That was why the series of efforts including the World Bank support and others collapsed.
I was told that to arrive at an estimated bill, the manager of a district will just need to conjure an imaginary figure, called the monthly target, and task his staff to meet that target. To meet the target, which is not tied to electricity supply, the DISCO manager will have to deduct the amount payable to the district by the metered customers, while distributing the balance pm his target to the unmetered households. This is daylight robbery and nothing else!
If the Federal Government or is it the NERC is prepared to instill discipline in the electricity supply chain, it should impose a deadline to end estimated billing. First, every household had to be metered and then a law should criminalise payment of estimated billing. I’ve attended several customer relation sessions in different geopolitical zones and heard of stories of energy theft and so on. But the laxities of the DISCOS are more. I’ve also heard the solutions proferred by some of the DISCOS, including the provision of meters attached to electricity poles and the use of technology. That should be intensified. The poor will breathe in this sector if the service level agreement contained in the Electricity Reforms Act 2005 and the Electricity Act 2023 are implemented to the letter. Where DISCOS defaults, they should carry the can, and the government too must be ready to impose sanctions on its operatives or the regulator, where the laxities are from official quarters. Electricity thieves should have their days in the courts, while insider dealings should amount to high crime for staff of the DISCOS. We can’t just continue to allow DISCOS to drag our citizens on the deadly dance floor.
