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Oil & Energy

Billing Fraud: Tenants Plan Mass Action

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11 years ago

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The controversy sur
rounding fraudulent billing system by Electricity Distribution companies (DISCOS) across Nigeria has assumed a new dimension as tenants have issued a 48-day ultimatum to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to investigate allegations of fraudulent billing by the Port Harcourt  Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) on power consumers or face mass protest.
In an exclusive interview with The Tide, Friday in Port Harcourt the Executive Secretary, National Union of Tenants of Nigeria, Mr Caesare Enwefah, accused PHED corporate of fraud and threatened that the union would mobilise for local, national and international mass action against NERC, if it fails to investigate the body’s complaints of inflating bills of consumers against PHEDC.
Enwefah stated that the union had written to the Managing Director of PHEDC since 11th August based on complaints from Port Harcourt residents and prayed that the company should cease forthwith the practice of indiscriminate estimation of units of power  consumed but that the management has not responded.
The management having failed to comply, it is now an issue with NERC. Their intention is that we shall go to court, but we shall not. We’re giving a 48-day ultimatum to NERC to investigate the allegation and to wind up PHEDC if found guilty,”.
He threatened that at the expiration of the ultimatum, if NERC does not take action, the union would organize local, national and international action.
He explained that the management of PHEDC is only interested in giving their staff revenue target and to enable them meet the target they do not care about fair billing but go about issuring indiscriminate bills to consumers.
“What they do is give light two or three days to the time of issuing bills and  switch off thereafter and the  masses keep paying for services not rendered”, he maintained.
On why the body would not go to court with the poor company, the tenants boss said the law do not allow consumers to go to court because electricity companies were not by law liable to give light but that the issue is that they should charge consumers according to services rendered.
A letter of complaint, the body wrote to the Managing Director of PHEDC said, “we act in response to complaints received from Port Harcourt residents alleging unfair billing practice by your company in terms of demanding for power not used.
Our investigation of the mater confirms that, contrary to the docrine of pay-as- you-consumer, your company has deviated from the traditional reading of meter to the practice of arbitrary estimation of bill for residents.
The letter which was made available to The Tide was copied to NERC chairman / CEO, DG standard organisation,  Minister of Power , House committee of Reps for Power, Rivers state Governor and Special Adviser to the President on MDG amongst others .
This practice, the letter stated violates the Electronic Power Sector Act, official Gazette No. 104 vol. 94 which prohibits the company from estimating bill for consumers save for certain explicable conditions and noted that such practice was a clever exploitation of the poor masses.
Take notice thus that unless your company yields to the request herein made, we shall as from September 2014 advise all tenants in Port Harcourt to ignore any further estimated billing by your company, the letter said.
The letter further reminded PHEDC that residents of Port Harcourt could be unwilling to pay light bill for 16th July to 8th August 2014 as light was not supplied in the period stressing that any attempt to disconnect any tenant for non payment degenerate to illegal enforcement of payment for service not rendered.

 

Chris Oluoh

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Oil & Energy

No Subsidy In Oil, Gas Sector — NMDPRA

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1 week ago

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September 8, 2025

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The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said there are no subsidies in the oil and gas sector as Nigeria operates a completely deregulated market.
The Director, Public Affairs Department, NMDPRA, George Ene-Italy, made this known in an interview with newsmen, in Abuja, at the Weekend.
Reacting to the recent reports that the Federal Government has removed subsidies or increased the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CBG), Ene-Italy said, “What we have is a baseline price for our gas resources, including CNG as dictated by the Petroleum Industry Act”.
He insisted that as long as the prevailing CNG market price conforms to the baseline, then the pricing is legitimate.
 Furthermore, the Presidential –  Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) had said that no directive or policy had been issued by the Federal Government to alter CNG pump prices.
The P-CNGI boss, Michael Oluwagbemi, emphasised that the recent pump price adjustments announced by certain operators were purely private-sector decisions and not the outcome of any government directive or policy.
For absolute clarity, it said that while pricing matters fell under the purview of the appropriate regulatory agencies, no directive or policy had been issued by the Federal Government to alter CNG pump prices.
The P-CNGI said its mandate, as directed by President Bola Tinubu, was to catalyse the development of the CNG mobility market and ensure the adoption of a cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable alternative fuel and diesel nationwide.
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Oil & Energy

‘Nigeria’s GDP’ll Hit $357bn, If Power Supply Gets To 8,000MW’

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1 week ago

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September 8, 2025

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The Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC),  Bismarck Rewane, has said that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could rise to $357b  if electricity supply would increase from the present 4.500MW to 8,000MW.
Rewane also noted that Nigeria has spent not less than $30 billion in the power sector in 26 years only to increase the country’s power generation by mere 500MW, from 4,500 MW in 1999 to 5,000MW in 2025 though the sector has installed capacity to generate 13,000 MW.
In his presentation at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Executive Breakfast Session, titled “Nigeria Bailout or Lights Out: The Power Sector in a Free Fall”, Rewane insisted that the way out for the power sector that has N4.3 trillion indebtedness to banks would be either a bailout or lights out for Nigeria with its attendant consequences.
He said, “According to the World Bank, a 1.0 per cent increase in electricity consumption is associated with a 0.5 to 0.6 per cent rise in GDP.
“If power supply rises to 8000MW, from current 4500MW, the bailout shifts money from government into investment, raising consumption and productivity. And, due to multiplier effects, GDP could rise to $357 billion.”
The FDC’s Chief Executive said “in the last 30 years, Nigeria has invested not less than $30 billon to solve an intractable power supply problem.
“The initiatives, which started in 1999 when the power generated from the grid was as low as 4,500MW, have proved to be a failure at best.
“Twenty-six years later, and after five presidential administrations, the country is still generating 5,000MW. Nigeria is ranked as being in the lowest percentile of electricity per capita in the world.
“The way out is a bailout, or it is lights out for Nigeria”, he warned.
He traced the origin of the huge debts of the power sector to its privatisation under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, when many of the investors thought they had hit a jackpot, only to find out to their consternation that they had bought a poisoned chalice.
Rewane, who defined a bailout as “injection of money into a business or institution that would otherwise face an imminent collapse”, noted that the bailout may be injected as loans, subsidies, guarantees or equity for the purpose of stabilising markets, protect jobs and restore confidence.
He said, “The President has promised to consider a financial bailout for the Gencos and Discos. With a total indebtedness of N4.3 trillion to the banking system, the debt has shackled growth in the sector.”
Rewane warned that without implementing the bailouts for the power sector, the GENCOs and DISCOs would shut down at the risk of nationwide blackout.
Rewane, however, noted that implementing a bailout for the power sector could have a positive effect on the country’s economy if Nigeria’s actual power generation could rise from today’s 4,500 MW to around 8,000 and 10,000 MW.
The immediate gains, according to him, would include improved power generation and distribution capacity, more reliable electricity supply to homes and businesses as well as cost reflective tariffs.
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Oil & Energy

NEITI Blames Oil, Gas Sector Theft On Mass Layoff 

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1 week ago

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September 8, 2025

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The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has blamed the increasing crude oil theft across the nation on the persistent layoff of skilled workers in the oil and gas sector.
The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, stated this during an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Orji said from investigations, many of the retrenched workers, who possess rare technical skills in pipeline management and welding, often turn to illicit networks that steal crude from pipelines and offshore facilities.
In his words, “You can’t steal oil without skill. The pipelines are sometimes deep underwater. Nigerians trained in welding and pipeline management get laid off, and when they are jobless, they become available to those who want to steal crude”.
He explained that oil theft requires extraordinary expertise and is not the work of “ordinary people in the creeks”, stressing that most of those involved were once trained by the same industry they now undermine.
According to him, many retrenched workers have formed consortia and offer their services to oil thieves, further complicating efforts to secure production facilities.
“This is why we told the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to take this seriously. The laying off of skilled labour in oil and gas must stop”, he added.
While noting that oil theft has reduced in recent times due to tighter security coordination, Orji warned, however, that the failure to address its root causes, including unemployment among technically trained oil workers would continue to expose the country to losses.
According to him, between 2021 and 2023, Nigeria lost 687.65 million barrels of crude to theft, according to NEITI’s latest report. Orji said though theft dropped by 73 per cent in 2023, with 7.6 million barrels stolen compared to 36.6 million barrels in 2022, the figure still translates to billions of dollars in lost revenues.
Orji emphasised that beyond revenue, crude oil theft also undermines national security, as proceeds are used to finance terrorism and money laundering.
“It’s more expensive to keep losing crude than to build the kind of monitoring infrastructure Saudi Arabia has. Nigeria has what it takes to do the same”, he stated.
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