The house of representatives on Thursday said the proposed free electricity for Nigerians must be implemented to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens.
The DisCos had announced that they were in talks with the federal government to fashion out modalities that would enable the provision of free two-month electricity as a buffer to Nigerians amid the pandemic.
Howeve, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said such arrangement was not realistic.
But the house of representatives in a statement on Thursday by its spokesperson, said it would be unconscionable to deprive middle and low income earners, whose sources of livelihood had been severly affected by the pandemic, electricity.
It said poor citizens should not be denied free power supply at the expense of the rich who are in the minority.
The lower legislative chamber said its insistence on two months electricity bill waiver was hinged on the need to see to the alleviation of the suffering that the citizens were going through during the pandemic.
“It is not in doubt that the economic conditions occasioned by the pandemic has made it harder for low-income customers and businesses to pay their electricity bills, threatening them with disconnection,” he said.
“The call by the House for free electricity for Nigerians is borne of a realization that similar measures have become necessary to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians as we try to battle and emerge from this pandemic.
“We therefore maintain that it is unconscionable to the over 100 million low and middle income earners in Nigeria whose income has been affected by the pandemic, to deprive them of this electricity tariff reprieve for fear that it would benefit the rich who do not constitute up to 10% of Nigeria’s population. It amounts to a disturbing case of punishing the majority for the sake of the few”
It asked the federal government to take a clue from other nations, like Ghana, who had put in place measures to bear the cost of electricity tariffs consumed by their citizens during this period.
“We must therefore consider the example of other nations, including Ghana which innovated ways to absorb the electricity tariffs of all lifeline customers (persons who consume zero to 50 kilowatts-hours a month) and provide a 50% relief for higher income residential and commercial customers.
“We are faced with unprecedented times in the history of Nigeria and it behooves a responsible federal government to innovate ways to alleviate the suffering of people.”
Kalu charged the government and stakeholders in the power sector to look for workable solutions that would make the proposed free electricity available to Nigerians feasible.
He said the house of representatives remained committed to ensuring the welfare of Nigerians, especially vulnerable households.