FG to reassess electricity tariffs for Band B, C consumers

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to standardise electricity tariffs in an effort to rectify disparities in the current billing system and to encourage further investment in the power sector.

Speaking at the public unveiling of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Nigeria Integrated Resource Plan in Abuja on Thursday, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu explained that the government is revisiting the tariff structure. This move comes as a result of the slow shift of customers to Band A—a delay he attributes to the reluctance of Distribution Companies to invest in necessary upgrades.

Under the current arrangement, consumers in Band B, who benefit from between 17 and 18 hours of electricity supply, are charged N63 per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, customers in Band A, who receive merely two extra hours of supply, incur a charge of N209 per kilowatt-hour. Adelabu criticised this discrepancy as unjust and stressed the urgent need for a fairer pricing framework.

“We will re-examine the tariff structure. I am not suggesting that an increase is on the cards immediately,” he said. “Our aim is to build on last year’s modest progress—not only to foster the growth of the sector but also to invest more in revitalising our ageing infrastructure.”

He further noted that the anticipated rapid migration to Band A has been hampered by a pronounced lack of investment from the Distribution Companies. “A significant level of investment is essential for us to accelerate the transition of lower-band customers into Band A, but progress has been disappointingly slow,” he added.

In response, the government is contemplating a restructuring of the tariff bands to reduce the wide gap between them. A proposed new system, which would categorise consumers into Bands A, B, and C, is aimed at addressing these inequities. “The gap between the Band A tariffs and those for Bands B, C, D, and E is simply too wide,” he observed. “It is neither fair nor just, and we must introduce some level of regularisation.”

Minister Adelabu reaffirmed that while the existing tariff structure is under review, this reassessment does not imply an imminent increase in electricity rates.