A power expert, Mr Gracious Omatseye, on
Thursday said the Lagos High Court judgment annulling the recent hike
in electricity tariff was unfair to power sector investors.
On July 13, a Federal High Court in
Lagos annulled the recent 45 per cent increase in electricity tariff
announced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Justice Mohammed Idris made the
pronouncement while delivering judgment in a suit filed by a human
rights lawyer, Mr Toluwani Adebiyi, challenging the increment.
The judge described NERC’s action as being ultra vires, irrational, irregular and illegal.
''The judgment is not fair at all. It is
three steps forward and five steps backward,” Omatseye, who is the
former Chairman, Nigerian Institutions of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (NIEEE), said.
“The annulment of the increase is not
good technically, because most of the power stations in Nigeria are old
and they need funding.”
He appealed to the Federal Government to
ensure that the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) pay the
debt they owed the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
In another interview, Alhaji Abdul-Rasak
Osho, President, Iponri Housing Estate Residents Association, said that
the judgment was a victory for electricity consumers.
“It is a welcome development; the increment was exploitation in the first instance.
“NERC and the DISCOs should have ensured that all houses in the country are metered before embarking on the increment.
“With this judgment, I think government
should find a way of helping the service providers to get gas and
increase their generation, which will enable them make more money from
sales.
“It will also give them a higher turnover than increasing the tariff on small output to cover their overhead,’’ Osho said.
Mr Raji Yusuf, the Chairman,
Alaba-Oro/Mosafejo Landlords Association, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Community
Development Area, said that DISCOs should not reintroduce fixed charges
because of the annulment.
Yusuf commended the court for giving the consumers hope, adding that the 45 per cent increase was cheating the masses.
On his part, Mr Bayo Akinlade, a lawyer
at Ijede, in Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos said that consumers would still
suffer the backlash.
He said, “It is good for the consumers
but bad for the Discos, but like most painful things, the consumers will
still suffer the backlash.
“I am sure the DISCOs will appeal, if
they followed due process in increasing the tariff then they will get
judgment in their favour but if they didn’t, no court will listen to
them.
“For, even the courts are electricity consumers as well,’’ Akinlade said.
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