The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission says the Federal Government paid over 633.30 billion naira on electricity subsidy in the first quarter of 2024.

According to the NERC quarterly report, the sum represented a 150.5 per cent increase from 252.76 billion naira in Q4, 2023.

The sum paid in the first three months of the year is higher than 628.61 billion naira paid from January to December 2023.

The electricity market regulator blamed the increase on the government’s policy to harmonize exchange rates, as well as the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all electricity distribution companies.