» "Accept Electricity Tariff Hike As A Painful Pill" – Fashola Tells Nigerians «

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde
Fashola (SAN), has appealed to Nigerians to bear the pains
of the new electricity tariff hike, describing it as painful pill
they must swallow in the interest of the country.
Fashola, who had a meeting with all stakeholders in power
sector in Lagos on Monday, and inspected ongoing works
at the Alagbon Local 2x15MVA, 33/11 KV injection
substation in Ikoyi, told journalists that the right thing
could have been to increase the power before the tariff but
unfortunately it was not possible considering the rot the
government met on ground.
He assured electricity consumers that they will get value
for their money, adding that the electricity distribution
companies (DISCOs) have been directed to significantly
improve service delivery.
Besides, the 10-year tariff order, will from the next two
years begin to come down, he added.
He said: “I understand that people who have been
disappointed over a long time will feel the sense of
concern that again tariff has gone up. But the truth is that
this tariff ought to have been there from day one, and I
don’t know why government of yesterday was not
courageous enough to tell us this was the tariff.
“This is why you have this MYTO (Multi-Year-Tariff-Order)
every two years. So they (past governments) have given
the impression that the price of power will increase every
two years. What we have done now with the Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is to give a 10-
year tariff. In that tariff, about two years from now, it will
begin to go down. Whatever price the tariff offers now, is a
lot cheaper than diesel, inverter and petrol generation. My
relations also asked me, Minister, what is this? So I’m not
exempted. It is a painful pill that I must appeal that
Nigerians swallow. It is like quinine and malaria. It is
painful, not sweet, and I know that, but I chose it because
we are not left with many choices. This is the first major
decision in power that this administration is taking.
Another problem is transmission, and we are fixing it.”
Fashola stated that people are not interested in investing
in gas, adding that are just beginning to show interest.
“So even if you have all the power plants, where is the
fuel? So it will get better, and I can only appeal for some
understanding that we do this in the best interest of our
country.
“We have to improve certain deliveries and that is why we
have these meetings with the DISCOs. They have to roll
out meters, install lines and transformers, among others,”
the minister said