Nigeria to delay electricity tariff hike amid coronavirus lockdowns

LAGOS, March 31 (Reuters) - Nigeria will postpone by at
least three months planned electricity tariff increases as its
citizens struggle with coronavirus lockdowns, the Minister of
Power said on Tuesday.
The first price increase since 2015, which was scheduled to
take effect on Wednesday, will take place only when distribution
companies "improve quality of supply, meter consumers and agree
with consumers on rates," according to a statement issued by the
Ministry of Power.
"This is in relation to the #COVID19 pandemic and current
economic reality of the Country," Power Minister Sale Mamman
said on Twitter.
Nigeria's state-controlled power tariffs are too low to
allow distribution companies to recoup costs and pay generating
companies - leaving the sector with ballooning debts.
It is one factor behind a creaking system that does not
generate enough power for the nation's 200 million citizens.
However, the Nigerian Labour Congress said tariff increases
would be "a deafening expression of insensitivity" amid "income
hemorrhage and economic squeeze" as a result of the lockdowns.
Lagos state, neighboring Ogun state and the capital
territory of Abuja entered lockdown late on Monday in an effort
to stem the spread of coronavirus, a move that has forced the
millions of poor Nigerians to stay home without pay.
Rivers state in the Niger Delta and Kaduna in the north have
also restricted movement.
The ministry said the changes would impact government
finances, and that it is working to incorporate them into
ongoing discussions with the World Bank over financial support
for the section.
The government is also implementing other "emergency
measures" to ensure workers are able to monitor and repair the
grid during the lockdowns, and is working with the Central Bank
to ensure that generating companies and gas suppliers are paid.