Abuja, Nigeria: The Nigerian Government is to incur N177 billion as subsidy to electricity consumers in the next three years. The amount is expected to come from savings accruable from the N5.20 tariff increase to be paid by consumers during the period, according to Imamudeen Talba, the administrator of Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC).

He stated this at an awareness campaign tagged: “Power Consumer Assembly”, organised by the Commission….in Katsina a town 500km North of Abuja. “By 2012, the problem bedevilling the power sector will have been solved and we believe that if there is constant power supply, Nigerians will pay the full tariff,” he said.Talba, who expressed the hope that the ongoing reform in the power sector would ensure efficiency and quality service delivery, lamented that customers across the country owed PHCN more than N79 billion. He said poor payment, illegal connections; hostility to PHCN workers, vandalism, theft of grid equipment, as well as fraudulent collusion between customers and utility workers were some of the challenges facing the sector.

He said the ‘Power Consumer Assembly’ was aimed at educating electricity consumers on the need to live up to their obligations and bring all stakeholders together to exchange ideas to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable power in Nigeria. He said the Commission had established Forum Office in each of the six geo-political zones in the country to handle customers’ complaints. The national awareness campaign was attended by traditional rulers, representatives of various security agencies, corporate organisations and government officials. Similar campaigns have been conducted in Sokoto and Delta states. (NAN)