The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court has dismissed a suit by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, seeking the reversal of the Band A electricity tariff hike by the 12 electricity distribution companies in Nigeria.
In a statement on Thursday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said the court on Monday, after considering arguments by the parties, ruled that the suit abused the court process and violated Section 51 of the Electricity Act 2023.
NERC statement said, “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.”
NERC had, in April 2024, approved a 230 per cent electricity rate paid per kilowatt hour (kwh) increase from about N68 to N225 for Band ‘A’ customers nationwide who are meant to enjoy at least 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
Aggrieved by the hike, MAN approached the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court and filed the suit, insisting that due process prescribed in the Electricity Act was not followed before the DisCos applied to NERC for the review of the tariffs, before it issued the Supplementary Order of 3 April 2024 as well as the subsequent rate review on May 6, 2024.
The manufacturers also claimed that it was discriminatory for only the customers on the Band A feeders to carry the burden of the hike.
The electricity regulator, however, challenged the suit by MAN, stating that their case was hasty, an abuse of court processes, and was filed prematurely without following due process of the law.
