A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, restrained the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, from implementing the planned new electricity tariff slated to take effect from June 1, 2015.
Trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, restrained the NERC and the electricity distribution companies from effecting any increment in electricity tariff pending the hearing and determination of the suit, challenging plans to tariff hike.
A Lagos lawyer, Toluwani Adebiyi, in the application, which he argued in person, had urged the court to restrain the NERC and the electricity distribution companies from foisting further hardship and unjustifiable tariff increment on Nigerians, as widely announced by the commission.
NERC Chairman, Dr Sam Amadi, had in Abuja, announced plans by the commission to implement the upward review in electricity tariff effective from June 1, adding that with the review, most electricity companies will retain the N750 fixed charge.
But Justice Idris, after entertaining arguments from Adebiyi, ordered the NERC to maintain status quo to the planned upward review of electricity tariff from June 1.
The court directed that the motion and other processes in the suit be served on the NERC.
The court also granted leave to the applicant (Adebiyi) to serve the originating summons, the affidavit in support, list of exhibits and the written address on the defendant (NERC) in Abuja, which is outside Lagos judicial division of the Federal High Court and adjourned further hearing in the suit to June 11, 2015.
Adebiyi, in the suit, is seeking an order restraining the NERC from implementing any upward review of electricity tariff without a meaningful and significant improvement in power supply at least for 18 hours in a day in most communities in Nigerian.
He also wants the court to restrain NERC from foisting compulsory service charge on pre-paid meters not until “the meters are designed to read charges per second of consumption and not a flat rate of service not rendered or power not used.”
He also wants the service charge on pre-paid meters not to be enforced until there is visible efficient and reliable power supply like those of foreign countries where the idea of service charge was borrowed.
He also prayed the court to mandate NERC to do the needful and generate more power to meet the electricity use of Nigerians, adding that the needful should include and not limited to a multiple long-term financing approach, sourced from the banks, capital market, insurance and other sectors of finance to power the sector.
He averred in an affidavit in support of the suit that despite the motto and mission of NERC which were expressly stated as “keeping the light on and to meet the needs of Nigeria for safe, adequate, reliable and affordable electricity,” most communities in Nigeria do not get more than 30 minutes if electricity supply, while the remaining 23 hours and 30 minutes were always without light and in total darkness.
“Nigeria poor masses are paying an estimated and indiscriminate residential bills ranging from N5, 000 to N18, 000, spending an average of N15, 000 to N20, 000 for fuel to maintain generating set. Businesses have collapsed, industries have closed down, and residents cannot sleep comfortably at night due to inefficiency of our power industry.
“Companies and commercial Houses are groaning under throat-cutting power bill which they are paying for, yet not getting the benefit for such payment,” Adebiyi averred. – Vanguard.
