Through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Federal Government has announced that, before the year is out, it will spend almost N2.4 trillion on power subsidies.
This was revealed by Dr. Yusuf Ali, the Commissioner of Planning, Research, and Strategy for NERC, during the PwC Annual Power and Utilities Roundtable on Thursday in Lagos, which had as its theme “Reigniting Hope in Nigeria’s Electric Power Sector.”
Ali clarified that tariff changes and difficulties with foreign exchange had caused the subsidies to fluctuate.
“As of November, the subsidy amount stood at N1.9tn, but with current trends, the monthly subsidy for electricity is expected to reach N260bn in December,” Ali said.
He underlined that the N2.4 trillion is an annual estimate that may change based on the monthly cost-benefit tariff.
“Every month, we calculate the difference between the cost-reflective tariff and the approved tariff to determine the subsidy,” he explained.
Ali noted that the government anticipates finalising the entire subsidy figure by year-end, depending on real consumption and tariff trends.
