TCN Plans to Hike Electricity Tariff

• TCN Plans to Hike Electricity Tariff

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said for Nigerians to fully enjoy the benefits of the liberalisation of the power sector, they must pay cost-reflective electricity tariffs.

Mr Usman Mohammed, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, TCN, made the statement on Thursday during the groundbreaking replacement of old wires on the Ikeja West-Alimosho-Ogba-Alausa-Ota transmission lines.

Mohammed said this would allow the sector to function independently without government intervention, saying despite the privatisation of the sector over 1.5 trillion has been pumped into the sector by the government yet remittance from Power Distribution Companies are not encouraging.

The TCN boss said Nigeria has the lowest electricity tariff in West Africa.

Mohammed said, “We have to stop this government intervention and we can only stop it when contracts become effective. Contracts can only be effective when you have cost-reflective tariffs.”

Speaking in the new replacement lines, Mohammed said it would allow Ikeja Electric to take the full capacity of all the transformers along the substations to be supplied by the lines.

He said, “We are working to transform the TCN to be one of the best transmission companies in the world. But I want to tell the Nigerian public that we cannot move forward if we don’t pay for electricity.

“I want to tell Nigerians that there is no relationship between poverty and payment for electricity.”