Electricity Tariff Increase Upheld by Federal Court in Nigeria
A Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which challenged the recent electricity tariff hike for Band A customers.
The court ruled that the suit was premature and an abuse of court process because it failed to comply with Section 51 of the Electricity Act 2023, which requires the exhaustion of dispute resolution mechanisms before proceeding with litigation.
MAN argued that the tariff increase disproportionately targeted Band A customers and that regulatory procedures for reviewing the tariffs were not properly followed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
However, the court found that the suit did not disclose a reasonable cause of action, as MAN had not fully utilized the available administrative remedies.
This ruling upholds the tariff increases implemented in April and May 2024 by NERC, which had been contested by MAN on the grounds that the burden of increased costs was unfairly placed on a specific group of consumers.