The electricity distribution companies, DisCos, have promised to supply electricity to their consumers free of charge for two months, during the period of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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This was contained in a statement issued by the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, Sunday Oduntan.
According to Oduntan, the gesture by the DisCos, which is in the form of a two-month rebate of free electricity to their customers nationwide was in alignment with the Federal Government’s effort to alleviate the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Also, the spokesperson for the DisCos, the ANED Executive Director, explained that the details of the implementation will be made public later.
The official said:
We are also completely aligned with the plans to ensure palliative measures, including free electricity supply to all Nigerians for two months, to make life easier, during the lockdown period.
The House of Representatives had, last week, called for the supply of free electricity to Nigerians for two months as part of measures to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House said it was considering a second stimulus bill that will provide Nigerians with free electricity supply for two months.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the call at a meeting between the National Assembly leadership and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmad, and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, among others.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, the regulatory authority in the electricity sector, had earlier shelved the take-off of the new electricity tariff regime earlier scheduled for April 1, 2020.
In December 31, 2019, the commission announced a new multi-year tariff order, MYTO, that it said would supersede the previous one issued since 2015.
Recall that the Federal Government had imposed a lockdown on Lagos, Abuja and Ogun while many other state governments restricted movements by residents as part of efforts to check the spread of the disease.
