Drama As Electricity Shutdown During Minister Adelabu’s Speech At National Assembly

There was a mild drama on Monday as the power supply abruptly cut off when the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, was addressing the National Assembly.

It was gathered that Adelabu was in the midst of answering questions from the lawmakers during an investigative hearing on rising electricity prices, organised by the Senate Committee on Power when the incident happened.

However, the power was swiftly restored within five minutes.

READ: Band A Customers Without 20 Hours Electric Supply Won’t Pay – Adelabu

Considering the power interruption, Eyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, voiced his apprehension regarding the minister’s comments concerning the country’s electricity stability.

He said, “You see what just happened. This is what we all experience. We, the Senators, experience it too, and I am sure even the President does experience it at the Villa, just that he cannot speak out like we are.”

Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), under the guidance of the Federal Government, recently approved a significant increase of 340% in the electricity tariff for customers classified under Band A.

As stated by the Vice Chairman of NERC, Musliu Oseni, customers in Band A will now be required to pay N225 per kilowatt hour, compared to the previous rate of N66. It is important to note that Band A customers are those who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that customers falling under this classification make up 15% of the total 12 million electricity customers in Nigeria.

However, it is worth mentioning that this tariff review will not affect customers in other bands.

In response, the Senate has called upon the Minister to provide an explanation and rationale for the recent price hike.