Police Arrest Energy Thieves

As part of efforts to
wards addressing the problem of electricity  theft, the Nigeria Police Force, Rivers State Command, has arrested four suspected energy thieves in Port-Harcourt.
.The arrest took place last Friday on the heels of series of complaints made by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED), on the incessant by-pass of electricity meters by some of its customers.
In a statement signed by the Manager Corporate Communication PHED, JonahIboma and made available to The Tide noted that  before the arrest, occupants of the estate had earlier been disconnected by the energy distribution company for default on paying consumed energy bills, illegal reconnection and meter by-pass diversion of load].to which, penalties papers were served on the occupants of the buildings.
The Power distribution company further stated that the  occupants of the estate located at Abuloma rebuffed the entreaties, went ahead to purchase another set of wires and got the place reconnected illegally.
According to him, “Earlier, advice offered by the PHED for the consumers to desist from such illegal acts fell on deaf ears.
Rather, they resorted to threatening the lives of the staff”.
As a result, the estate and other recalcitrant consumers were reported to the law enforcement agency, which led to the arrest  of some of the occupants “, the statement noted.
The statement however revealed that thirty four cases of energy theft have been recorded at the Trans Amadi Business Unit.  While, thirty, fifty-nine, seventy-one and fifty-eight other incidents were reported at Rumuola , Rumuodomaya, Ikot- Ekpene and Calabar Business units, respectively, by some of the licensed areas of the company’s coverage.
The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company {PHED} reiterated its resolve to stop at nothing until the issue of energy  theft, which has hampered business growth of the company, is stamped out completely.