Court adjourns ruling on electricity tariff hike suit

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday adjourned till July 24, to rule on an application by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, seeking to discharge the ex-parte order restraining the commission from implementing the new electricity tariff billed to be effective from June 1, 2015.

Trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris  had earlier restrained the NERC and the electricity distribution companies from effecting any increment in electricity tariff pending the hearing and determination of the suit which was filed by an human rights activist, Toluwani Adebiyi.

In his counter affidavit to the motion seeking to set aside the interim injunction, the plaintiff argued that the motion ex-parte was properly heard and granted by the court because of its urgency.

According to Adebiyi, "The matter was filed on May 25, heard and granted on May 28, which was the last working day before the June 1, date of take-off of the proposed electricity tariff hike"

He that the restraining order should be sustained by the court in order to prevent the electricity distribution companies(Discos) from effecting any price hike, adding that what the respondent was asking for is an encroachment on the substantive suit.

In his response to NERC's preliminary objection to the suit, the plaintiff contended that he indeed has the 'locus standi' to file the action because as a consumer, he pays his electricity bills promptly.

He added that before filing the suit, all local remedies for resolving the issues had been over-exhausted.

NERC'S lawyer, had in his submissions argued that the motion ex-parte upon which the restraining order was granted is an abuse of court's process.

On the preliminary objection to the suit, the respondent argued that the plaintiff does not have the 'locus standi' to file the action.

Adebiyi, in the suit, 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 the NERC from foisting compulsory service charge on pre-paid meters not until "the meters are designed to read charges per second of consumption and not a flat rate of service not rendered or power not used."

He also wants the service charge on pre-paid meters not to be enforced until there is visible efficient and reliable power supply like those of foreign countries where the idea of service charge was borrowed.

Adebiyi is further asking for an order of court mandating the NERC to do the needful and generate more power to meet the electricity use of Nigerians, adding that the needful should include and not limited to a multiple long-term financing approach, sourced from the banks, capital market, insurance and other sectors of finance to power the sector.

Finally, the lawyer is asking the court to mandate the NERC to make available to all Nigerians within a reasonable time of maximum of two years, prepaid meters as a way to stop the throat-cutting indiscriminate estimated bill and which must be devoid of the arbitrary service charge, but only chargeable on power consumed.