Nigeria Sees 40% Hike In Pre-Paid Electricity Meters Amid Fuel Subsidy Woes

The federal government announced on Wednesday that the prices of single-phase and three-phase pre-paid electricity meters will be increased by 40%, with effect from the same day.

The announcement was made in an order issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission with a number, NERC/2023/020, and signed by the commission's Chairman, Sanusi Garba, and its commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye

The government mentioned in the order that the single-phase meter that used to cost N58,661.69k, will cost N81,975.16k from Sept. 6 onwards. Whereas, the three-phase meter price will be increased from N109,684.36k to N143,836.10k.

"Evaluate the affordability of meter services for consumers, aiming to prevent excessive pricing that could burden end-users. Ensure that MAPs are able to provide meters to end-use customers in the prevailing economic realities," the commission shared, Punch reported.

The government agency explained that this decision was essential to the financial sustainability of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry.

"The Meter Asset Provider scheme is one of the four frameworks in the regulations for the provision of meters to end-use customers in NESI," it stated. "Section 8(1)(c) of the regulations provides that the costs of single-phase and three-phase meters issued by MAPs, inclusive of all other associated costs of installation and warranties shall be at the regulated rates approved by the commission."

The national secretary of Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network, Uket Obonga said the government has been talking about this since the unification of the foreign exchange rates.

However, Obonga noted the government was warned against taking this action, considering the ongoing situation of Nigerians following the subsidy removal impact that had increased fuel and food prices across the country.

Reacting to the news, civil servant Esther Isime said, "I was planning to buy a prepaid meter for my new apartment, but with this increase, I will have to find a way to get more money to do that," BusinessDay reported.

The announcement came when the country was going through a hard time, which has been acknowledged by the president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier this month. However, he assured that with "patience and determination," Nigeria will succeed.

Besides increased fuel and food costs, cab services like Uber also increased the prices in June. Furthermore, the country is also dealing with the issue of oil thievery, which recently led to long queues at fuel stations in Lagos alongside a few more locations in South-Western states.