THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has spoken against any electricity tariff hike by the DISCOs as proposed.

According to him, any such increase should be done after the proposed amendment to the law criminalizing estimated billing has been passed into law.

On this issue, he has promised to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to discuss the sequence with him.

Gbajabiamila made the observation while speaking on the proposed increase on his Facebook page on Saturday.  He said: “There is no guarantee that after any electricity tariff hike the Discos will not continue with the nefarious practice of bill estimation or provide uninterrupted power supply.

“I believe the NASS should ensure that any increase in electricity tariff should first of all the cost reflective and not just a whimsical increase with no empirical basis.

“Also, any such increase should be done after the proposed amendment to the law criminalizing estimated billing has been passed into law.

“I intend to meet and discuss this sequence and other conditions with the Attorney General or the Federation and other relevant authorities.” the Speaker said.

Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said the electricity tariffs being paid by consumers will increase in April this year.

The NERC made the disclosure in its December 2019 Minor Review of Multi-Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2020.

According to NERC, the new tariffs would reflect the impact of changes in the minor review variables in the determination of cost-reflective tariffs and relevant tariff and market shortfalls for 2019 and 2020.