The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday defended the 45 percent increment in electricity tariff which according to him remained the only way to enhance stable power supply in the country.
Fashola, who stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power, explained that an Act of the National Assembly, actually empowers the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, to increase tariff, hence the federal parliament will not be able to stop the implementation at this stage.
He explained that the increment in cost of procuring raw materials to generate electricity was part of the reasons for increasing the tariff and that the best way to sustain the current stable power supply in the country.
He said, “Electricity is a product, it is made from raw materials, some of the raw materials are gas, some of the raw materials are power plants they are also related.
“So, the issue of tariff is not the single issue of price, when the raw materials go up, the price cannot stay the same.
He said investments in power are not where they should be and part of the reason why government opted for privatisation was to get more private capital.
Fashola maintained that the federal government and the consumer have a duty to sustain the current tempo in the power sector by encouraging the firms which are generating power to produce maximally at the right pricing.