According to the federal government, Nigerians pay the least per unit of energy consumed worldwide.
The Federal Government claims that the cost of energy usage in the nation is the lowest in the world and that customers default on their payments the most.
This information was provided by Abubakar Aliyu, the Minister of State for Power, in a statement he made at an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Power and leaders of several agencies involved in the electricity sector on Thursday, May 4, 2023, in Abuja.
The Minister continued by pointing out that Nigeria’s Federal Government extensively subsidises power, accounting for its lowest price compared to other nations.
Aliyu conducted a cost comparison of energy in Nigeria and its neighbouring nations to support his allegation.
He declared, “Nigeria has the lowest electricity prices in the world, especially for gas to power, which is heavily subsidised.
For instance, although power costs 15 cents per kilowatt in Nigeria, they are 42 cents in the Niger Republic, 23 cents in the Republic of Benin, 25 cents in Mali, 28 cents in Senegal, and 27 cents in Burkina Faso, among other countries.
Nonetheless, the Minister expressed dismay that despite government efforts to make power accessible and cheap, many regular customers and important government entities tend to default on bill payments.
Pulse has previously reported that because of unpaid debt, the Federal Government, through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), had started severing energy distributor businesses, or “Discos,” from the national grid.
Sulyman Abdullah, the managing director of TCN, bemoaned that the recent disconnections of Kaduna and Kano Discos from the national grid were caused by the high incidence of power bill defaults by important government institutions.
