By Our Correspondent
The Senate Committee on Power has expressed displeasure over the recent electricity tariff hike without recourse to the current hardship in the country.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) said during an investigative hearing on Monday that the Senate as the representatives of the people was not happy that despites the hardship their constituents are going through as a result of the fuel subsidy removal, the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) could wake up and increase electricity tariff without due consultation.
Speaking at the hearing, Senator Abaribe said, the committee members were tempted to believe that the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission connived with the Discos to increase the tariff in order to compound the suffering of the people.
Despite the explanation by the NERC chairman and the Minister of Power on the need to increase the tariff to enable them serve the masses better, Abaribe insisted that “the time is odd for electricity tariff hike”.
Meanwhile, Abaribe noted that his committee will report back to the plenary on their findings, while adding that the issue of liquidity will be look into by the Senate as requested by the Minister of Power.
Earlier in his contribution, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu had informed the Senate that there was need for the electricity tariff increase because the Federal Government needed to pay the sum of 2.8 billion tariff subsidy debt.
He said the policy was not meant to bring hardship to the people rather to find a away to serve them better. “At this stage we need tough steps that will bring pains but at the end shall bring the intended result”.
Generally, both the senators and those who spoke at the one day investigative hearing of the committee on Power agreed that the problem bedeviling the power sector was inefficiency and attributed the chunk of it to Discos.
Discos were accused of making hell of money from consumers without investing anything in the sector.
It will be recalled that the Senate Committee on Power held the investigative hearing with the theme “Need to halt the proposed increase in electricity tariff by eleven successor electricity distribution companies. (Discos) and the plan hike in electricity tariff by the distribution companies of Nigeria (Discos) amidst the economic situation in Nigeria”.