By Peter Okutu
The Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC), South-East zone, Monday, said it has commenced the implementation of the new service reflective tariff in the country.
The implementation which was effective Tuesday, September 1, 2020, is in compliance with the Order by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) dated 27th August 2020.
This development was made known in a statement issued by the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh.
Ezeh explained that the new tariff will be a reflection of the service quality and does not apply to all customers, but only to those that enjoy more hours of power supply.
According to him, “In the new tariff Order, customers are classified into three major clusters, namely: Non-MD, MD-1 and MD-2.
“In the same vein, five distinctive bands (A-E) has been created to reflect the various service levels and minimum hours of power supply, a situation where a blanket tariff no longer applies to all category of customers.
READ ALSO: Consider plights of electricity customers in tarrif review — FCCPC urges NERC
“For instance, customers in “Band A” are to enjoy daily minimum supply of 20 hours, those in “Band B” minimum of 16 hours, “Band C” minimum of 12 hours, “Band D” minimum of 8 hours, while those in “Band E” are expected to enjoy minimum daily supply of 4 hours.
“The impact of the reviewed tariff will only apply to customers in Bands A, B and C; while the tariff for customers in Bands D and E remains frozen until their service quality is improved upon. It is only then that they will be migrated to the Band that suits their supply availability.”
Ezeh further stated that the review is consistent with the outcome of the various stakeholder consultations for extraordinary tariff review application held across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states in February and March this year.
It was gathered that for postpaid customers, the impact of the new tariff will reflect in their October bill which is for energy consumed in the month of September, while it will impact on prepaid customers as they purchase their token.
“The new tariff is expected to improve efficiency in delivering quality service to customers, and will equally ensure the sustenance of the operators within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI)
