During an investigative hearing by the Senate Committee on Power regarding the increase in electricity prices, a moment of disruption occurred on Monday as Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, was addressing senators at the National Assembly.
Although the power supply was briefly cut off, it was later restored.
Following the incident, Senate Committee on Power Chairman, Eyinnaya Abaribe, commented on the Minister’s remarks about the country’s stable electricity supply, implying that the outage contradicted Adelabu’s statement.
Abaribe remarked, “This interruption is a common occurrence that affects us all, including Senators and even the President at the Villa, although we may not always acknowledge it publicly.”
Notably, on April 3, the Federal Government approved a significant 340% increase in electricity tariffs for Band A customers, as announced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Vice Chairman, Musliu Oseni. This increase will raise the tariff for Band A customers from N66 to N225 per kilowatt-hour, with these customers receiving 20 hours of daily electricity supply.
The Senate had summoned the Minister to explain the recent tariff adjustments and provide justification for the price hike.