Electricity consumers may have to contend with higher charges following the Federal Governments decision to end most of its subsidy payments in the electricity sector come next year, 2022.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo gave the hint while speaking yesterday, during the opening of the 14th Nigerian Association for Energy Economics/IAEE conference, with the theme: Strategic responses of the energy sector to Covid-19 impacts on African economies‘, in Abuja.
The government monthly subsidy for electricity is estimated at N30 billion.
According to the Vice President, who was represented by the Special Assistant to the President on Infrastructure, Engr. Ahmad Zakari, the government expects the electricity sector to generate its revenue from the power sector market.
Prof. Osinbajo noted that the government would be investing over $3 billion in the coming years to improve transmission and distribution infrastructures across the country.
He explained that the effort of President Buharis administration to reform the energy sector would ensure that the sector continues to play a critical role in the growth of the countrys social and economic wellbeing.
The VP stressed that as the electricity sector continues to be stabilized, more power is needed for the countrys large population.
Earlier, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva pointed out that the Covid-19, which took the world by surprise in 2020, had a grave impact on the energy sector.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, (PTDF), Engr. Bello Gusau, noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the economies of African countries, especially those that rely on the export of crude oil.
