Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe Agi, has initiated legal proceedings against the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over an alleged 230% increase in his electricity tariff. The case is before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Agi is seeking protection for his fundamental rights.
Agi’s application calls for a declaration that the new tariffs and supply hours violate the Electricity Act of 2023 and Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution. The respondents include NERC, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, and AEDC.
In an affidavit submitted with the lawsuit, Agi states that he purchased 682kwh of utility on March 23 and April 3 for N50,000 each time. However, on April 6, he made a similar purchase but only received 206.7kwh for the same amount, citing the implementation of “bands” by NERC and AEDC.
Agi argues that the tariff increase disproportionately affects consumers and creates discrimination between different consumer categories. He criticizes NERC Chairman Musiliu Oseni’s statement on April 1, alleging that it further exacerbates discrimination among consumers.
Agi also challenges the use of US Dollars to determine tariffs in Nigeria, deeming it unnecessary and against public policy. He seeks a declaration that the NERC Supplementary Order to the MYTO 2024 is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
- Despite the legal action, no hearing date has been set for the matter. This comes after NERC raised electricity tariffs for customers in the Band A category, who receive 20 hours of power supply daily, from N66/kWh to N225/kWh on April 3.