Despite a near-zero improvement in power supply efficiency under the President Buhari administration, and contrary to the boast by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, that Nigeria enjoys the cheapest electricity, findings have shown that over 100 countries offer more affordable electricity compared to Nigeria.
This is coming as the current Government has in the last eight years increased electricity tariff by over 168 percent, with billing jumping from an average of N23.5 a kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2015 to N63 kWh as of January this year. Nigerians paid between N16 and N31kWh in 2015 for electricity consumption.
Currently, a consumer pays between N55kWh to N71kWh, depending on the categorisation.
Indeed, amidst high electricity theft, estimated billing and a worsening financial crisis in the power sector, about nine agencies and ministries of the Federal Government owe the distribution companies, (DisCos) about N75 billion accumulated between 2015 and 2020. If the government pays the N8 billion captured in the current budget, Buhari will still transfer a N67 billion-electricity debt burden to the incoming administration.
While many Nigerian households and commercial customers survive on generating power, a UK-based research company, Cable, which measures electricity bills across the world, listed Libya, Angola, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Zimbabwe as the top five countries with the cheapest cost of electricity.
In Libya, one kWh of electricity stands at $0.07; it is at $0.013 in Angola, $0.014 in Sudan and $0.017 in the case of Kyrgyzstan while consumers in Zimbabwe pay $0.021.
Measuring over 230 countries and projecting on Nigeria’s official exchange rate then, Nigeria came to 109 on the list of countries with the cheapest electricity, as the research projected the average electricity tariff to stand at N56 for one kilowatt per hour.
Though the report captured a lower exchange rate compared with the prevailing situation, Nigeria currently charges between $0.15 to $0.17 for a kWh even at a time when the minimum wage is N30,000 and purchasing power nosedives by the day.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Order 142 issued in January 2015 shows that residential electricity consumers were paying between N16 to N31 for one kilowatt per hour. Commercial customers were paying between N23 to N29 while industrial customers were paying between N23 and N31. Special customers were paying about N26 for one kWh.
Going by the projection of NERC, no electricity consumer should pay more than N45 for one kilowatt per hour between 2015 and 2024 but economic realities changed along the line, forcing the tariff to increase by over 150 percent.
On his part, the former Chairman of NERC, Sam Amadi, noted that tariffs have been increased several times in the country, adding that while the industry is not yet at what some call a ‘cost-efficient’ tariff, Nigeria has made significant improvement, especially with the service-based tariff.
