The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in the country to suspend the proposed tariff increase.

The regulator had announced that there would be an upward review of electricity tariff across the country from April 1.

But in a memo on Tuesday, the commission said the adverse effects of the coronavirus has affected global economy and Nigerians are also bearing the brunt.

“The orders of the com­mission (order no NERC/ GL/184/2019 to NERC/ GL/184/2019) titled ‘The De­cember 2019 minor review of multi-year tariff order (MYTO) 2015 and minimum remittance order for the year 2020’ shall remain in force until June 30, 2020 when a new minor review order shall be issued by the com­mission,” the memo read.

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“There shall be no in­crease in tariffs of end-use customers on April 1, 2020.

“The current global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted on the availability of imported components for local assem­bly of metres for supply to end-use customers under the metre asset provider (MAP) regulations and the roll out plan for the existing stock.

“The commission ac­knowledges the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global econo­my and the consequential impact on the average Ni­gerian.

“All future tariff reviews shall be on the basis of con­sultations between the Dis­Co and customer clusters with firm commitments on rates and quality of service. The service level compact shall include a compensa­tion mechanism for end-use customers to address the DisCo’s failure events to deliver on performance targets.”