The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, PHED,says the replacement/repair of faulty electrical equipment remains the sole responsibility of the company and not the customers.
The Manager, Corporate Communications, PHED, Mr. John Onyi, made this known in a statement made available to the Press at the weekend, following increasing cases of reported extortion from customers by self-acclaimed chairmen of neighborhood electricity committee and other collaborators yet to be identified.
According to him, “we would advise our esteemed customers in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states not to contribute money for transformer or any other electrical equipment in whatever guise. Please, note that the distribution network remains the sole responsibility of the distribution company”.
Onyi stressed that, “the company has, from inception in November 2013, as part of its service level agreement, made its policy known to the public on faulty equipment replacement/repair through community engagements, press releases, radio announcements and jingles, advertorials, website, flyers and bulk bill Short Messaging Service, SMS”.
He said that, “for the purpose of emphasis, the policy clearly states that it is the prerogative of the service provider to take full responsibility for repair and replacement of such equipment which is in consonance with the provisions of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC”.
Onyi said that, already, the company has made arrangements with contactors that specialise in transformer repairs and other related electrical repairs in its franchise area being Port Harcourt, Calabar, Uyo and Yenagoa to handle such matters.
Furthermore, he said, more than 355 new hands were recently absorbed into the system where they would be accountable for transformers in clusters, manage customers account as well as timely escalation of repairs/replacement advice.
He, lamented, however, that legitimate payments for energy consumed that would have been made in favour of PHED to accelerate the process of replacement/repair were being diverted by fraudsters to enrich their pockets at the expense of loyal customers, in spite of efforts to curb illegal extortion.
Onyi urged energy consumers to report any suspected fault on their service transformer or network to the nearest PHED office for immediate attention, warning that any individual seeking to extort customers under the guise of contribution for repair/replacement of electrical equipment, would be sanctioned.

Tonye Nria-Dappa