Olu Verheijen, special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on energy has said that Nigeria’s electricity tariff will increase within months.
The presidential aide announced this at the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Before this, the federal government had approved a threefold increase in electricity tariff for customers under Band A classification on 3 April 2024.
Verheijen said tariffs need to rise by about two-thirds (66 percent) so many customers to reflect the actual cost of supplying electricity.
She added that higher electricity tariffs must be balanced with subsidies for less-affluent consumers, as they are necessary to fund maintenance, improve reliability, and attract private investors into power generation and transmission.
The presidential aide noted that Nigeria is trying to resolve the transition to a cost-efficient but cost-reflective tariff to attract private investors.
She said, “One of the key challenges we’re looking to resolve over the next few months is transitioning to a cost-efficient but cost-reflective tariff.”
“So the sector generates revenue required to attract private capital, while also protecting the poor and vulnerable.”
Verheijen further noted that Nigeria’s power industry requires significant investment to meet its development goals.
She said out of the country’s 14 gigawatts of installed power, only eight gigawatts can be transmitted nationwide, while just four or five gigawatts can be directly delivered to homes and businesses.
The presidential aide said, “Your energy policies have to be closely linked with your own ambition for your country.”
“Our own ambition is to be a $1 trillion economy in five years and to move to an upper-middle income country in 25 years.”
