There was a power outage on Monday while Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, briefed the senate committee on power on the rationale behind the federal government’s recent hike in electricity tariff.
On April 3, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification.
The commission said customers under the band A who receive 20 hours of electricity supply, will now pay N225 per kilowatt (kW), starting from April 3 — up from N66.
The development did not go well with many Nigerians .
Adelabu said the electricity tariff increment was necessary to prevent a full blown power outages.
“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff,” the minister said.
“With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariff.
“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”
Adelabu was still fielding questions from senators at the investigative hearing when power went off in the room.
Enyinnaya Abaribe, chairman of the senate committee on power, pointed to the incident as a reminder of why fixing the energy sector has become imperative.
“You see what just happened. This is what we all experience. We the senators experience it too and I am sure even the president does experience it at the villa, just that he cannot speak out like we are,” Abaribe said.
The power was restored about five minutes later.
