Wednesday, December 11, 2024 -Aba Power Limited Electric, APLE has begged the the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC to hike electricity tariff.
APLE asked NERC to increase electricity in its franchise area by 123.33%
from January 1, 2025.
The company at a public hearing organised by NERC in Abuja on Tuesday
blamed inflation, rising exchange rate and high operational cost in its quest
for the extra ordinary tariff review.
If the application is approved by the Commission, electricity tariff for
non-maximum demand customers in Band-A would rise from N99.9/kWh to
N223.12/kWh. The tariff for maximum demand (MD1) customers in Band-A would rise
from N107.5/kWh to N240.09/kWh, while those in MD2 would pay N245.2/kWh instead
of the current N109.79/kWh.
Compared to the tariff approved by NERC for other electricity
distribution companies, customers supplied by Aba DisCo would pay N35.7/kWh
more than consumers across the country.
But the company argued that it did not benefit from the minor tariff
review approved by NERC for other DisCos in December, 2022.
Justifying the application for increase, APLE Managing Director, Mr. Ugo
Opiegbe said the hike would ensure improved and stable power supply to its
customers in Aba.
He set the parameters for the application at 25% inflation rate,
N1,654.2/$ exchange rate, average energy offtake cost of N135/kwh and annual
operational expenses at N189.6 billion. The company expects its revenue to hit
N227 billion in 2025.
He said the bulk of its power will be supplied by Aba Independent Power
Plant owned by Geometric Power with supplementary supply from Alaoji Power
Plant owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC.
Speaking at the public hearing, NERC’S Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni said
the Commission would give its verdict on the application after considering all
the factors affecting the industry and on the presentations made during the
hearing.
He harped on the need to improve services to consumers, adding that “when your customers are happy, they will be willing to pay more to you, so that you can also improve on your operational performance. I think that aspect, we need to look at it critically. It’s quite good that you already concluded the process. Before we allow your cost to be passed on to the end user, we’ll have to look at it and see the problems it might cause or otherwise.”
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