The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has called on the Bola Tinubu-led federal government to immediately reverse the new electricity tariff increase.
Speaking via a letter signed by its Acting General Secretary, Dominic Igwebike, and addressed to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the new tariff increase would push the price of goods upwards and affect the poor.
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) increased the electricity tariff on April 3 for customers classified as Band A due to the fact that they enjoy 20 hours of power supply daily.
With the tariff increase, Band A customers will pay N225 kilowatt per hour instead of the current N66.
However, the NUEE described the tariff increase as absurd for a country already facing economic hardship and alleged that the minister did not seek the input of stakeholders before making the decision.
The union added that the increase would inadvertently push citizens to purchase foreign products as local products are beyond their reach, saying that the new tariff is not beneficial to Nigerians.
NUEE said the safety of its members was at stake, and they were at risk of being attacked by people in the community when they visited for disconnections.
The statement: “The recent hike in electricity tariff from N68 /kWh to N225 /kWh is absurd in a country where the majority of the masses are grappling with basic survival and an electricity access rate of about 55%.
“The justification given by NERC is that the hike is attributed to only Band A consumers, who make up only 15% of electricity consumers and utilize 40% of the nation’s electricity consumption.
“It begs to understand the sensibility of the person(s) that uttered such a statement purporting that it would not affect the general public.
They need to answer these questions: Who are the Band A consumers? What do they do? Who are the customers of the Band A consumers? Who bears the brunt of the electricity hike? The general public is the one that will be most affected by this.
“They are the customers and end [1] users of the Band A products and services. The additional costs will be transferred to the common man, so they are indirectly being exploited, notwithstanding their dwindling purchasing power and increasing impoverishment.
“The Honourable Minister of Power and NERC didn’t consult with the stakeholders in the sector before the increase. What of Service Reflective Tariffs as it relates to consumers? We, as a stakeholder, do not know the energy policy of this present administration.
“As a critical stakeholder in the power sector who is concerned with Nigerians getting constant and affordable power supply, we state categorically that the hike in the electricity tariff is not beneficial to Nigerians and should be withdrawn.”