‘Bayelsa electricity consumers owe PHEDC N5.1bn’

 

Authorities of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company said on Wednesday that electricity consumers in Yenagoa and its environs in Bayelsa State are indebted to the company to the tune of ₦5.1bn in unpaid bills.

In a statement by Manager, Corporate Communications, PHEDC, Mr. Jonah Ibomah, the company also said it had lost over 15 transformers  in Yenagoa, the state capital, alone to vandals, noting that the development had hindered electricity supply in the state.

Ibomah said the huge debt had impacted negatively on the growth of Yenagoa Business Unit in particular and the overall performance of the company which came into existence just over a year ago.

 

He said the indebtedness cut across various categories of PHEDC customers.

Ibomah said, “The PHEDC available  record shows that out of 4,977 pre-paid customers, only 183, representing less than four per cent, are vending. 

“What this suggests is that the rest of the customers must have tampered with their meters thereby engaging in energy theft which has accounted for energy losses.”

The corporate Communication manager also said customer using analogue meters with a total population of about 10,669, only 2,681 were paying electricity bills.

“The energy Yenagoa is receiving is not at all commensurate with its payment.  For instance, in October, 2014, Yenagoa received 17,782,270 worth of energy, the highest among the 15 Business Units under the licensed area of the company’s coverage; but it was only able to account for less than 40 per cent of this,” he added.

Ibomah said, closely followed in this regard was Trans Amadi Business Unit that had 15,034,150 worth of energy within the same period under review and it was able to account for 92 per cent payment.

He said, “It is no longer news that they (consumers) drain oil from such transformers even when in circuit. They remove  armoured cables of various sizes, removal of aluminum conductors, among others. 

“Areas affected by the equipment vandalism are  Opolo, Ovom and Igbogene. In fact, in the four states that PHEDC is operating, we have lost about 196 transformers.

“Community hostilities are a daily occurrence as many people still see electricity as a national cake that must not be paid for. The company has faced a lot of resistance arising from this erroneous perception that electricity is free.

He reminded consumers that no company survives under hostile conditions, appealing to them to pay their bills promptly and provide an enabling environment for PHEDC to operate.