APL Electric Company Limited (APPLE), Aba, Abia State has explained its recent increase in electricity tariff, even as the power company has promised to continue to prioritize reliable and affordable power supply to its customers.
Speaking with newsmen at the power station’s plant at Osisioma, Aba, Managing Director of APPLE, Ugo Opiegbe said his company received the order for tariff adjustment from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), on December 30, 2024.
“In line with the regulatory framework established by NERC, we received the order for tariff adjustment on December 30, 2024, with an effective date of January 1, 2025. This adjustment for various customer classes reflects the current macroeconomic realities affecting the entire power sector,” he said.
Opiegbe explained that prior to the adjustment, the company called for customer engagement across the Aba ring-fence to discuss the issue, noting that such engagement, which was widely publicized, underscored the company’s commitment to open and transparent way of dealing with its customers.
It must also be noted that, unlike legacy distribution companies (DisCos), Aba Power does not receive any form of subsidy or intervention from the federal government, Opiegbe stressed.
“As a 100 percent privately owned DisCo, Aba Power operates independently without access to government subsidies. This means our operations are fully funded through the revenue we generate, making our tariff a true reflection of economic realities.
“As a result, the tariff we charge is entirely cost-reflective and directly linked to the actual costs of power generation, distribution and other operational expenses.
“While other DisCos implemented upward tariff adjustments as far back as April 2024, APPLE kept its rates unchanged for eight months, maintaining the lowest tariffs within our service area,” he stated.
Opiegbe disclosed that when APPLE started operations two years ago, it was buying power from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) at N21/KWH, but is presently getting the same quantity of power at N136.26/KWH, making the company to be operating at a loss for sometime now.
Opiegbe assured that the company followed due process in increasing its tariff, adding that the adjustment was driven by macroeconomic factors including inflation and dollar rates and rising cost of gas.
On what the company is doing to sustain improved power supply in Aba, Opiegbe said before APPLE came, the city was supplied with only 21 megawatts of electricity, but that at the moment, an additional 97 megawatts have been injected into the system.
“We built four new substations in Aba and no DisCo has done that since 1913. We want to make sure the entire ring fence has a reliable and interrupted power supply, to make it Band A+, not even Band A.
The company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Blessing Ogbe said APPLE, as a customer caring company, has never for once violated the capping methodology of billing (commonly known as estimated billing), adding the company has always acted within the NERC framework in this regard.
Ogbe said Aba Power is the only DisCo doing mass metering of her customers in the country at the moment.
“We are the only DisCo in the country that is doing free metering; last year, we did 40,000. This year, we are going to do 100,000, with 11,000 done this January.
He advised those who could not wait for the mass metering programme, to go to any of their offices for the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.
Simeon Akpata, the firm’s head, (technical) and Nkeiru Joel, media consultant, highlighted challenges facing the company to include energy theft and cable vandalism.
They said last year, over 72 transformers were vandalized in the city of Aba alone and called for the government’s assistance in this regard.
