Consumers Owe PHEDC N1.5bn In Yenagoa

Dr. Abba Ibraham, Commissioner, Government and Consumer Affairs, NERC (left) on arrival with Johnkin Achife, Director, Distribution Services, PHED to the commissioning of the new customer care centre in Port Harcourt recently.

The Management of Port
Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has identified unwillingness of consumers to pay for services and vandalism as two major factors frustrating the operations of the company in Bayelsa State.
PHEDC’s Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Jonah Iboma, lamented that electricity consumers in Yenagoa, the state capital alone owed the company about N1.5 billion while over 15 transformers where lost in the area by the company.
He noted that the indebtedness which cut across all categories of customers and that the huge debt had negatively impacted on the growth of the company’s Yenagoa Business Unit as well as the overall performance of the firm in the area.
In a statement made available to the press Saturday, Iboma said, “available record shows that out of 4,977 prepaid customers, only 183, representing less than 4 per cent, are vending’.
“What this suggests is that the rest of the customers must have tampered with their metres thereby engaging in energy theft”.
According to Iboma, out of the 10,669 customers using analogue metres, only 2,681 of them were paying their electricity bills.
The manager who further disclosed that what the energy Yenagoa is receiving is not commensurate with its payment as according to him, in October 2014, Yenagoa received 17,782,270 worth of energy, but it was only able to account for less than 40 per cent.
He said this was closely followed by Trans Amadi Business Unit with 15,034,150.00 worth of energy within same period under review but that it was able to account for 92 per cent payment.
On vandalism, he said another big challenge facing the company in its operational four states, about 196 transformers were lost and appealed for prompt payment of electricity bills as well as public protection of power facilities.

Chris Oluoh