MAN petitions NERC over electricity tariff increase, estimated billing

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday in Abuja petitioned the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) over what it called astronomical increase in fixed charge in the face of estimated billing as against actual consumption, a practice which MAN said was unfair and worrisome.

The petition was read at a meeting between NERC officials and some leaders of MAN at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. “The increase of between 44 and 45 percent in the fixed charge is considered too astronomical and therefore not appropriate.

The market/consumers will not be able to absorb any increase, as the market is already saturated,” the document presented by MAN read in part. Presenting MAN’s petition, the association’s president, Frank Ndemba Jacob, said the impact of the current fixed charge component of the electricity tariff was too heavy on the steel and non-metallic companies, many of whom, according to him, have threatened to shut down and relocate to neighbouring countries. Jacob said that his members regard the recent MYTO 2.1 declaration as contravening the MYTO 2, which five years tenure spans 2012 to 2017 and was used as the basis for their long term economic planning.