Economy
DISCOs Demands 200% Electricity Tariff Hike
By Ebitonye Akpodigha
Nigerians may have to be getting ready to pay more for electricity they consume, barely eight months they were earlier forced to do so by the government.
This is because power firms in the country are appealing to the Federal Government to approve another increase in electricity tariff by 200 percent.
They last increment done was by 45 percent, though there have been a slight improvement in electricity supply in some parts of the country. However, most consumers are yet to be metred by the power firms.
The power distribution companies fondly called DISCOs have written a proposal to the government, asking for the go-ahead to charge electricity consumers in Nigeria an average energy charge of N105 per kilowatt-hour from the current approved rate of 22.8KWH.
According to Punch, the DISCOs attributed their latest push for tariff increase to high inflation rate in the country, scarcity of foreign exchange, devaluation of the naira and the huge debts being owed them.
Already, they have hinted the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) about the proposal but no action had been taken on it yet.
Chief Executive Officer, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, an umbrella body for the DISCOs, Mr Azu Obiaya, confirmed the latest agitation for tariff increase, in an interview with our correspondent, stressing that it was important to raise the tariff in order to remain in business and serve the people well.
Mr Obiaya said, “To review the tariff, we will be looking at an average rate of N70 per kilowatt-hour for residential consumers. But some Discos will like to have the rate as high as N105/kWh.”
Each Disco has a fixed energy charge payable by its customers. The highest charge, according to documents obtained by our correspondent from NERC for the year 2016, is N32.26/KWH and this is payable by R2 consumers under the Jos Electricity Distribution Company.
The lowest energy charge of N15.83/KWH is payable by R2 customers who get power from Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.
A further analysis shows that the average energy charge for all the 11 Discos is N22.8/KWH.
But the Discos were said not to be comfortable with the current rate, as they argued that it was not cost reflective and was hampering the required expansion of infrastructure as well as the smooth flow of operations.
Mr Obiaya, who spoke to our correspondent on the sidelines of a power dialogue in Abuja on Thursday, said the debts owed power distribution companies by private homes, businesses and government ministries, departments and agencies post-privatisation amounted to N568bn.
He also stated that one reason many Discos had not metered their customers was due to the huge debts owed them, as well as the tariff issue.
This, he said, had hampered the operations of the different Discos, a development that had made it difficult for the companies to meet the funds remittances required of them by the Market Operator.
Mr Obiaya said, “Discos are experiencing revenue shortfall on a monthly basis of N38bn. As of June 2016, the MDAs owed the Discos N53bn post-privatisation.
“The books of the Discos are so bad that they have no chance anymore to access finance. These books do not reflect the cash flow that is necessary for them to be taken seriously by any lender.”
A senior official at NERC told our correspondent that although the Discos had been calling for an upward review in tariff, the regulator had not considered their demand.
“The minor review of tariff is ongoing at present but NERC has yet to consider their plea for such increase in tariff, although the economic fundamentals in Nigeria have seriously changed and are now so high,” the official said.
When contacted, the National Secretary, National Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network, Mr Obong Eko, stated that NECAN would never support such move.
He described the move as the peak of insensitivity to the flight of Nigerian masses.
He said, “They’ve been flying the kite for some time now because the last time tariff review was done was when the exchange rate for one United States dollar was about N190. But now, one dollar is close to N500; and the price of gas in the international market has gone up too.
“Despite all these, it will still be so unreasonable to come out to announce an increase in tariff now that Nigerians are going through severe suffering. Are they aware that people are dying of hunger? We can never support such move and we will resist it.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn