The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company
(PHEDC) says the power outage in Bayelsa since Dec. 23, 2019 and its adverse
impact on economic activities is regrettable.
The electricity outage occasioned by the face-off between the
Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company
(PHEDC) has entered the 15th day causing anguish to residents.
The IYC had, on Dec.23,2019 besieged the offices of the PHEDC
and forced the staff to shut down operations, occupying the premises to protest
perceived poor power supply to residents.
The development, which resulted in a total power outage in
Yenagoa and its environs, as well as Ahoada in Rivers, has made the residents
to rely wholly on power generators with resultant increase in petrol demand and
cost of living.
Mr John Onyi, PHEDC spokesman said in a statement on
Monday that peace talks aimed at resolving the face-off which broke down has
been re-convened by officials of Bayelsa government.
He said that the N16.6 bn debt owed by customers of the
power distribution company was hampering its operational capacity to render
services on a commercial basis.
“An updated record, as at December 2019 now stands
at N16, 620,458,203.12.
“A
breakdown of the figure showed that PHED inherited N5, 982,746,640.74 from the defunct Power Holding Company of
Nigeria, PHCN, on 31st October 2013 while the balance of N10, 637,711,562.38 was from
November 1, 2013 till December 2019.
“Residential
customers had N13, 478,505,726.34 while
State Ministries, Department and Agencies, MDAs, Yenagoa had N2,558,660,414.34 while Federal
MDAs owe an outstanding of N91,558,680.76.
“Private
Maximum Demand and Commercial Maximum Demand customers owe the PHEDC N388,779, 285.35 and
N102,954,096.33 respectively.” Onyi said.
According
to Onyi the average electricity monthly billing in Yenagoa based on the
allocation from the national grid is about N159, 253,559.42 out of which PHEDC receives an average
payment of N27, 523,737.25.
He said that with a customer base of 21,453
only 3,555 customers representing 17percent are the ones paying their
electricity bill on monthly basis, a development that is adversely affecting
the viability of the firm.
Onyi caledl on all relevant stakeholders
including security agencies, government to prevail on the IYC to vacate PHEDC
offices to enable the firm serve its customers satisfactorily.
The IYC had challenged PHEDC to substantiate its claim that
customers in Bayelsa owed it N16.6 billion.
Mr Kenedy Olorogun, Central Zone Chairman of IYC said the debt
claim was a ‘a blackmail’ to cover up incompetence by the firm despite
verifiable evidence that there is excess power stranded at the Yenagoa
transmission substation.
He dismissed the claim by PHEDC that residents were not meeting
their obligations for energy use adding that the people were being coerced to
pay for ‘darkness’ based on estimates.
According to him, information from the Transmission Company of
Nigeria (TCN) showed that there was sufficient power at the substation at Gbarain,
Yenagoa, but the PHEDC was not taking the power to homes.
Investigation showed that TCN, had sanctioned the PHEDC for
declining to take up available power from TCN’s
Yenagoa substation to end users leaving power ‘stranded’.
“On Aug. 20, 2019, TCN announced the lifting of a suspension
order from the electricity market it placed on the PHEDC on July 27, for breach
of ‘Market Conditions/Participation Agreement.
According to a notice available on TCN’s portal, the lifting of
the sanction was a regulatory measure to ensure that distribution companies
evacuate available power.
TCN said that lifting of the sanction followed PHEDC’s
compliance, and took effect on August 19, 2019.
The PHEDC and TCN had been shifting blames on the poor power
supply in Bayelsa, with TCN saying that the PHEDC was unable to take up
available power at its substation, while the PHEDC alleged that it was not
getting enough power from the TCN’s grid.
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