NERC wants court’s order on new electricity tariff vacated

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday filed an application to discharge the ex parte order restraining it from implementing the new electricity tariff scheduled to take effect from June 1.

The counsel to the commission, Mr Tonbofa Ashimi, informed the court that he had filed the application to discharge the ex parte order, including a preliminary objection challenging the substantive suit.

Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had given the order in a ruling on an ex parte application filed by a Lagos lawyer, Mr Toluwani Adebiyi.

Idris had restrained the NERC and the electricity distribution companies from effecting any increment in electricity tariff pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Ashimi told the court: “My Lord, I am the counsel representing NERC and we have filed an application seeking to discharge the ex parte order.

“We also filed a preliminary objection challenging the suit in its entirety.”

Responding, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Adebiyi, told the court that he needed more time to reply to the application on points of law.

Justice Mohammed Idris, however, adjourned sitting to July 21 for hearing of all pending applications.

At the last adjournment on June 11, NERC had yet to employ the services of a lawyer.

Adebiyi had at the sitting urged the court to renew the order to preserve the subject matter of the suit.

“My Lord, everybody is affected. Even this court is running on generator. There is a need to stop NERC from increasing the electricity tariff because Nigerians cannot afford such and there is no justification for such increment,” he said.

Idris had in a short ruling held that “the ex parte order remains valid and subsisting”.

Adebiyi is seeking an order restraining the NERC from implementing any upward review of electricity tariff without a meaningful and significant improvement in power supply at least for 18 hours in a day in most communities in Nigeria.

He also wants an order restraining NERC from foisting compulsory service charge on owners of pre-paid meters until the meters were designed to read charges per second of consumption and not on a flat rate of service not rendered or power not used.