Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria hit out at plans by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to increase tariffs.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has hit out at plans by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to increase tariffs.
A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of PENGASSAN, Seyi Gambo, said it was “morally wrong” to increase the charges as Nigerians were searing under incessant power outages.
Condemning the planned increase, Gambo said, “It is also noteworthy that the same Federal Government, while issuing license to Independent Power Producers two years ago charged them to generate enough electricity and supply to the national grid, while also revealing that consumers could pay higher tariffs on two fronts via the fixed cost and energy cost, that is, cost per kilowatt hour, private or corporate.
However, the situation on ground shows that even with all the colossal amount that has been committed into power generation in the last 10 years, which stands at the highest amount in any African country, Nigeria, with over 160 million people, has only generated its highest output of 4 347 megawatts, a figure recorded around November, 2012.”
He continued, “Against this background, PENGASSAN lends its voice to the call for the government to allow the Road map for power generation and distribution to fully come on stream before contemplating additional charge to consumers of the product.
We are equally of the opinion that corruption has been at the root of Government’s inability to generate enough electricity for its people, likewise many other areas of failure in government.
We therefore charge the government to be more committed in its fight against this canker worm and to do everything possible to give Nigerians a new lease of life and hope in the survival of this nation and its most disadvantaged population.”
