The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said on Wednesday the Federal Government paid N135.23 billion to subsidise electricity consumption in the second quarter of this year.

The commission disclosed this in its Q2 2023 report posted on its website in Abuja.

NERC said the federal government spent N135.2 billion to plug the revenue shortfall in the power sector during the period.

This, according to the commission, was N99.21 billion or 275 percent higher than the N36 billion the government paid in the first quarter.

The report read: “The government incurred a subsidy obligation of N135.23 billion in 2023/Q2, which is an increase of N99.21 billion or 275 percent compared to the N36.02 billion incurred in 2023/Q1.”

The commission noted that the subsidy was due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all distribution companies.

“The increase recorded in the period was a result of the government’s policy to harmonise the exchange rate.

“On the average, subsidy obligation incurred by the government per month was N45.08 billion in Q2 2023,” it added.