A dramatic moment unfolded on Monday during a Senate hearing when power supply was abruptly cut off while the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, was addressing the National Assembly. The power interruption occurred as Adelabu was responding to questions from senators at the investigative hearing on "the need to halt the increase in the price of electricity" organized by the Senate Committee on Power.
The power outage lasted for less than five minutes before being restored. Speaking about the incident, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe, remarked that the interruption highlighted the challenges faced with electricity supply in the country. He emphasized that this experience was not unique to the senators but was also shared by the President and others.
The Federal Government had recently approved a significant increase of 340% in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), customers under Band A, who enjoy 20 hours of electricity supply daily, will now pay N225 per kilowatt hour, up from the previous rate of N66.
It was clarified that this tariff review would not affect customers in other bands, and further checks revealed that Band A customers represent 15% of the total 12 million electricity customers in Nigeria. The Senate had summoned the Minister of Power to provide explanations and justification for the tariff increase.
