Court Dismisses MAN’s Suit Against Electricity Tariff Hike

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has had its case ruled out by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The case was associated with Abuja Electricity Distribution Company’s alongside 11 other distribution companies.

They complained about the review of tariffs, especially the Electric Band “A” tariff—those who receive at least 20 hours of electricity per day and are not eligible for government subsidies.

MAN argued that the review did not follow due process as required by the Electricity Act 2023.

Additionally, they took issue with the Band A customers’ new electricity tariff, which went from N66 to N225 per kilowatt hour.

Background

Earlier, the body reported the review of the electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electric Regulatory Commission. Therefore, it filed a lawsuit at the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court.

MAN had sought four legal reliefs, claiming that the tariff increase unfairly targeted a specific group of consumers and lacked compliance with regulatory procedures.

It stated that the due process stated in the Act for the review was not fulfilled before AEDC and the others applied to NERC for the tariff review on July 31, 2023.

It also said that regulatory requirements for tariff reviews were not followed before NERC issued the Supplementary Order of 3 April 2024 and the subsequently reviewed rate of May 6, 2024.

MAN also held that placing the burden of the tariff increase on only Band “A” feeders and leaving out other bands amounted to discrimination against such consumers.

Court Ruling and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s Response

The court ruled after “considering” arguments from both sides of the party, claiming the suit was a case of abuse in the court process, as it was hastily done and prematurely.

It also stated the manufacturing body did not follow the processes of the law in due course as regards the provisions of Section 51 of the Electricity Act 2023.

As a result, the case was dismissed for being an abuse of court process.

“The court also held that MAN’s case disclosed no reasonable cause of action as it had not exhausted the dispute resolution mechanism.

“It thus held that the suit was not instituted with due process of law, and consequently struck out the case,” the NERC said.

What do you need to know?

Band A customers are elite clients who do not receive government funding. They do, however, have a daily minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply guaranteed.

Manufacturers who serve this group of clients claim that their tariffs have tripled to N209.50 per kilowatt-hour, seriously affecting production costs.

 

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