Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has appealed to its customers to disregard the planned tariff increase as approval for such an increment had not been received.

AEDC management made the appeal in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

“Please disregard the circulating communication, regarding the review of electricity tariffs.

“Be informed that no approval for such increments has been received. We regret any inconvenience.”

AEDC had earlier in a statement, said there would be an upward review of electricity tariffs from July 1.

According to the statement, the tariff increase is influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.

“Effective July 1, 2023, please be informed that there will be an upward review of the electricity tariff influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.

“Under the MYTO 2022 guidelines, the previously set exchange rate of N441/1 dollar may now be revised to approximately N750/1 dollar which will have an impact on the tariffs associated with your electricity consumption.

“For customers within bands B and C, with supply hours ranging from 12 to 16 per day, the new base tariff is expected to be N100 per Kilowatts per hour (KWh).

“While Bands A with (20 hours and above) and B (16 to 20 hours) will experience comparatively higher tariffs,‘’ it said.

In the statement, AEDC encouraged customers with prepaid meters to consider purchasing bulk energy units before the end of June as this would allow them to take advantage of the current rates and make savings before the new tariffs came into effect.

AEDC said that for those on post-paid (estimated) billing, a significant increment is imminent in their monthly billing, starting from August.

The Mult Year Tariff Order (MYTO) is the methodology for regulating electricity prices.

It provided a 15-year tariff path for the Nigerian electricity industry with limited ‘minor’ reviews each year in the light of changes in a number of parameters.

These included inflation and gas prices and ‘major’ reviews every five years when all of the inputs were reviewed with stakeholders.

NAN