Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has given a condition for the reduction of the recently increased power tariff, saying the tariff will be reduced if the foreign exchange (FX) rate drops below N1,000.
The minister, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, said by cutting the inefficiencies of some operators in the sector, coupled with the gains by the naira against the dollar, the tariff paid by Nigerians should change positively.
“The tariff is flexible and I can tell you that even if naira gains more and the exchange rate comes down below N1,000, it must positively affect the tariff and the tariff even for the Band A will come down below the N225 kilowatt per hour that we are currently charging,” he said.
“There are variable factors that go into the complication of the tariff and we are not closing our eyes to this.
“We are transparent. We are publishing it and we are talking to Nigerians, the consumers and all the power sector stakeholders.
“This administration is very serious and we are committed to transforming the sector,” Adelabu added.
The minister also said the government is working tirelessly to ramp up power generation from about 4,000 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts in the next six months — “for the first time in the country’s history”.
He said 25 per cent of Nigeria’s power generation is from hydropower while the remaining 75 per cent is from gas plants.
On the Siemens project, Adelabu said the pilot phase is being concluded, which involves the importation of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations.
According to the minister, five of the transformers have been installed and commissioned at various locations across the country; while three of the mobile substations have been installed and are ready to be commissioned within the next two weeks.
