The politics of electricity tariffs

It  would  seem that from  the deliberate efforts  of the Nigerian trade unions  to lump  the issue of new electricity tariffs approved for Nigerian electricity distribution companies (DISCOs)   with  the  recent increase  of  fuel  price  to   N145  per litre,  that  the unions  have something to  hide  after  all .

Nigerians now know better. With the daily news of sabotage of oil and gas pipelines, the problem of irregular or zero electricity supply  lie  not  with  the discos. Instead   they    lie      clearly     with   those  that are to generate and transmit the electricity  to  the discos  for onward delivery to the  anxiously  waiting and expectant  Nigerian electricity  consumers .

It  is therefore  patently  unfortunate  and mischievous of the unions in the power  sector to vent their spleen on the discos as  the culprit for  poor  electricity  supply . The facts as the public  now knows is  that while  the DISCOs  can be taken  to  task on slow metering and  use  of  estimates, the same cannot be done on the main  issue  of  lack of  electricity and the  existing  poor  power  supply.

The    obvious   reason  is    that  the DISCOs  do  not  exist  in a vacuum but  are at the receiving end of a value chain  in electricity generation  and transmission . It  follows  therefore  and therefrom  that if the DISCOs do not  have  kilowatts  of electricity transmitted  to them for  distribution, then their  distribution  capacity is  denuded if  not  non-existent .

So  how  come the power industry  trade  unions,   the protector  of workers’  rights  are deliberately  portraying the DISCOs as exploiting the Nigerian  masses with  the new tariffs  and  equating that with the high fuel  price  increase that the  workers  union have  called  Nigerians out  on  strike? The  answer is obvious and  it  is that  Nigerians as  I said before  now know  better  and will  not be led by the nose  again  by mischievous trade    unions  in  any   industry.

Nigerians know  that the DISCOs  are  owned by  Nigerian  investors  who  bought them at  privatization  with  their  hard-earned  money  and that the distribution  function  in electricity is capital  intensive and  highly  expensive  to deliver. They  know  that if the DISCOs deliver  then our economy  will rise from its present  dormant  and  comatose  state and Nigerians  will  have  a better  life . Nigerians  also  know that   electricity  distribution is highly  technological and it will  take  some time for  those who  have invested in it which  are  the discos  to make  any  profit.

We also know that as  with  the  high prices  which  ushered in telecommunications when GSM  phones  came in,  the  high  tariffs in electricity  already  approved  for the DISCOs by the Nigerian Electricity  Regulatory  Commission , the power  regulator controlling the DISCOs, will  also  come down  for  our overall  enjoyment  and   general  satisfactory  consumption of  electricity .

It  is  therefore  unnecessary  for  the power  trade  unions, in agitating  for workers’  rights  and benefits to  make  the DISCOs  and the tariffs  approved  for them the scapegoats  for poor  electricity supply when Nigerians know the source of that. That  is definitely misleading  and  more  unpatriotic  than the misleading  picture  of  exploitation   that  the unions  have painted  the  discos  on  the new  tariffs  . It  is like  giving  the dog  a bad  name in order to hang  it  and that is  not  what  the discos  or  the Nigerian  electricity  consumers deserve . Especially  now  that  Nigerians  are calling on government  to stop vandalisation  of pipelines  and tackle   those  involved  like Boko  Haram  and terrorists generally .

To  salvage its reputation  from  the failed strike on the new  fuel  price  increase,  the trade unions should  refrain  from  lumping the protests  on  that score with the new electricity tariffs  that  NERC  has  approved  for  DISCOs .  This  is because  Nigerians know that  better  days are  ahead  if  the DISCOs  are  allowed  to  function  according to their legitimate  mandate to deliver electricity to  Nigerians and lift us out of perpetual  darkness . The unions  should channel  their  efforts  at making Nigerians have  electricity  by asking government  to galvanise its power generation and transmission  capabilities  to  make  the discos  perform  and deliver . That  way ,  Nigerians  will  rally  round when trade  unions call  them  out  on  strike  because  they will  see that  the Unions  know  what  they  are saying especially  on new  electricity  tariffs as well  as the real  reasons  for  poor  electricity  supply .

SONY ANAETO

Anaeto, an analysyst, writes from Port Harcourt