PHED Wants Customers To Embrace Meter Installation Programme

Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED), has encouraged its customers, especially those living in rural areas, to embrace its ongoing meter installation programme.
The company said the appeal has become necessary following resistance of the meter installation exercise by some communities in Akwa Ibom and Rivers States.
The coordinator, Metering, PHED, Mr David Idung, stated that some customers who do not appreciate the benefits of having their own prepaid meters had been resisting installation teams sent by PHED to carry out the exercise.
According to him, various reasons had been identified why some customers, especially youths have been impeding the work of the meter installation teams, the primary ones being demand for payment for ‘permit’ as well as the fear that prepaid meters would lead to customers paying higher bills.
Idung noted that the installation of prepaid meters would help people better manage their resources, reduce wastage and plan their family budgets better. The benefit of this, he added, is that it takes away the issue of estimated bills which has been a major area of disagreement between distributors and consumers.
He said it was imperative that community heads, youth leaders, and residents within the affected communities encourage their people to support the ongoing projects, adding that its proper implementation would go a long way towards improving the lives of the people.
It would be recalled that residents in some locations including Rumuomoi and Eket stopped PHED contractors from installing meters, a development that led to discussions with the communities for resolution of the issue.
Idung noted that the need to embrace the metering scheme was due to the advantages that it affords customers.
He said further that the company had plans to install meters to customers to ensure that they got a clear and simple means of measurement of electricity consumption and reduction of customer billing complaints.
“The current massive metering programme that we have embarked upon represents a clear demonstration of the resolve of this company to effectively measure electricity consumption in a fair and straight forward manner,” he stated.