Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said that Nigeria still pays the lowest electricity tariff compared to other countries in West Africa such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Niger.
In the future, the power minister emphasized the importance of discussing whether Nigeria should bear the actual cost of power, as it is no longer inexpensive.
Adelabu insists that most of the West African countries are paying nearly twice as much as Nigeria on electricity tariffs.
The Minister, however, expressed his concerns regarding the inadequate electricity supply in the country.
He attributed this issue to various factors, including outstanding subsidy debts. Adelabu suggests that if the federal government is unable to pay the owed subsidies to the market, which is one of the factors affecting the power supply, Nigeria should transition to a full cost-reflective tariff system.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted the under-utilization of the National Independent Power Plants (NIPPs) managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Plc (NDPHC). This is primarily due to the consistent shortage of gas supply.
Adelabu stated these during his nationwide inspection visit to power installations of the federal government.
Adelabu visited the Olorunsogo Power Generating Plant in Ogun State, which has a capacity of 750 megawatts (MW), and the Omotosho Generating Plant in Ondo State, which has a capacity of 500mw.
Speaking during the inspection, the minister said, “We have been to Olorunsogo and we are now in the Omotosho Power Plant. These are big power plants. I am impressed with the size and the technology of the power plants here. Their operational history is also impressive.
“And I am amazed at the level of underutilisation of these power installations. Each of them operates below 25 per cent capacity, when we are still complaining that power generation is low in this country. The under-capacity utilisation is due to a variety of reasons.
“The major part of it is the shortage in gas supply to these installations, which is why I needed to see these plants myself, to look at what can we do to improve the operational capacity of these plants.”
