In Bayelsa State, youths and the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) tangle over lack of electricity. The youths say they can no longer pay for ‘darkness’, writes MIKE ODIEGWU
Most residents of Bayelsa State, especially in Yenagoa, the state capital, have backed the decision of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Central Zone to shut down the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC).
The residents insisted that it was better to suffer free darkness than being compelled to pay for it by the electricity distribution company (DisCo).
One of the residents, who identified himself as Thomas Seleipre, said: “There is no difference between now that the IYC closed the office of PHEDC and when their office was open. Maybe the only difference I can point out is that now we enjoy our darkness freely but before now we were compelled to pay for darkness.
“The amount of fuel I buy now to power my generator is still the same amount I bought before now. So, I support the IYC and we are not missing PHEDC. We are asking the Federal Government to look into the activities of PHEDC and consider revoking its licence.”
Another resident, Fortune Godson Alfred, described as untrue the claims by the PHEDC that its consumers in the state were owing N16.4bn.
He said: “Bayelsans are not owing PHED a single Kobo. If anything they are the ones owing Bayelsans for extortions through estimated billing. Have you ever heard MTN or Glo say citizens are owing them?
“PHED is a victim of its fraudulent practices. They should provide prepaid meters for all their customers in Bayelsa State. That way, nobody owes anyone. And if anyone is caught stealing their power then, they can jail such a person. As of today, Bayelsans are not owing them.
“We have been paying for darkness while powering our homes with our private PMS-run generators. So we don’t miss them and cannot be blackmailed to go against the IYC.
“Bayelsans should stand firm with the IYC even if this fracas lasts for a year. After all, PHED was not giving you light even when they were presumably working.”
The trouble between the Ijaw youth body and the DisCo brewed for months following persistent darkness in Yenagoa despite monthly bills paid by residents. Yenagoa earned the inglorious appellation as the darkest state capital in the country.
The Kennedy Olorogun-led IYC Central Zone held many engagements with the management of PHEDC and begged the company to supply some hours of electricity daily to ease the pains of residents in the city. Olorogun further appealed to the firm to disconnect breakers it installed across the city to ensure that electricity was evenly distributed to all residents at the same time.
Following failed engagements to resolve the problem of power supply, Olorogun led the youths to shut down the office of the disco in Yenagoa on December 23 and sent all the company’s workers home.
The angry youths locked the gate leading to the premises of the company, placed plantain stems and suckers to the entrance and used the IYC flag to barricade the area.
The youths described the PHEDC, which is in charge of the state, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, as an irresponsible firm and called on the Federal Government to revoke the license issued to PHEDC insisting that the firm was incompetent.
Olorogun said the state, especially Yenagoa, had been in darkness for as long as the existence of PHEDC in state lamenting that the company had made life in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa horrible.
He said PHEDC had forced many businesses to close shops in Yenagoa because of consistent darkness in the city adding that its activities contributed to some pockets of criminal activities in the area.
He said: “We have been engaging this company on the need to give Yenagoa some hours of electricity every day. We once gave them a 14-day ultimatum to remove all the light breakers to ensure that whenever they give light all parts of Yenagoa enjoy the light. But they didn’t honour the ultimatum.
“We decided to shut down their office in Yenagoa and sack all their staff. They should go home because they have no reason to operate in Bayelsa.
“How can you say you are a Disco yet you can’t give electricity to a city where your office is located? Among the discos, PHEDC is the worst. The company is very irresponsible and incompetent. They cannot do this job and they have continued to display it.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to revoke the license it granted to PHEDC and issue a fresh license to any other company with the capacity to give us light.
“We will continue to barricade their office in Yenagoa until either their license is revoked or they make serious commitment to live up to their responsibilities.”
PHEDC Manager Corporate Communication John Onyi flayed the actions of the youths. He alleged that customers in Bayelsa were owing to the firm N16.5bn. He complained that the operations of the company in Yenagoa including the lives of its workers were under threat.
He said: “Members of PHED staff are now living in palpable fear as their lives have been threatened by the IYC who warned them not to be spotted around the offices, claiming that it has taken over PHED offices in Yenagoa.
“The IYC threatened that any vehicle belonging to PHED spotted in the city would not only be seized and impounded but have the driver of such vehicle assaulted.
“The IYC according to its leadership is demanding for 24 hours power supply and removal of breakers to enable the residents of Yenagoa to have the uninterrupted power supply.
Read also: Bayelsa residents to Disco: we’re not missing you
“At various meetings previously held with the IYC, PHED had made its position known that the installation of breakers was for administrative convenience of the company and also not to jeopardise the life span of the equipment.
“On 24 hours power supply, the IYC has repeatedly been told that the limitation from the national grid does not allow that for now and PHED gets its share based on what is generated. The responsibility of PHED for the umpteenth time is to distribute what it gets to its customers in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states.”
But Olorogun and other residents faulted the claims by the PHEDC that customers were owing N16.5bn and wondered how the debts were accumulated in a state that had been in darkness.
Olorogun said: ” Bayelsans have not been enjoying uninterrupted power supply over the years. How did the company come about such a huge amount of money as debt? We are calling on the company to prove its claims or face further actions from the youths.”
The claims of huge debt profile by the PHEDC provoked the residents, who wondered how the company came up with such an outrageous figure amidst the darkness in the state.
Onyi, however, in his recent statement, broke down the figure. He said the figure was not a fluke insisting that the electricity debt of customers in Yenagoa had posed a serious threat to the sustainability of the disco.
Explaining the figure further, he said: “An updated record, as at December 2019 now stands at N16.6bn. A breakdown of the figure showed that PHED inherited N5.9bn from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on 31st October 2013 while the balance of *N10.6bn was from November 1, 2013, till December 2019.
“Further analysis showed that residential customers-R2 had *N13.5bn while State Ministries, Department and Agencies, MDAs, Yenagoa had N2.6bn. federal MDAs have an outstanding N91.6m leaving the balance to Private maximum demand and commercial maximum demand customers.
“It is also noteworthy to mention that the average electricity monthly billing in Yenagoa based on the allocation from the national grid clocks around N159m out of which PHED receives an average payment of *N27.5m with a customer population of 21,453.
It is unbelievable that only 3,555 customers representing 17 per cent are the ones paying their electricity bill every month out of the said population of 21,453.
“From the above figures, it is very pertinent to state unequivocally that the behavioural payment pattern of the customers in Yenagoa has left so much to be desired and one begins to wonder how PHED and indeed the power sector would survive amid the skyrocketing debt and hostilities.”
Onyi said it was regrettable that the economic activities in the state had been paralysed arising from the action of the IYC. He explained that the demand and consumption of electricity had a cost element.
“PHED completely distances itself from any economic dislocation inflicted on its valued customers in Yenagoa arising from the unlawful action of the IYC to keep the state in total darkness but deems it appropriate to set the record straight.
“We, therefore, call on all relevant authorities such as security agencies, government functionaries to prevail on the IYC to vacate PHED offices to enable us to serve our esteemed customers satisfactorily.”
But the more the firm explains itself, the angrier the youths in the state become. The residents insisted that at no time they enjoyed electricity worth the amount the company classified as debt. Olorogun reacted to the breakdown saying the company was being economical with the truth.
“It is baffling that the PHED is still flaunting such outrageous figures as debt profile in Bayelsa. How did they calculate it? All we have known since this company began operation in Bayelsa has been darkness.
“Initially they said it was N16.5bn. Now with their latest statement, it increased slightly to N16.6bn. Within the period of this increment, their office was shut down. But they still believe we should pay for darkness.
“This goes to show that all other figures they are bandying as debts were calculated based on the darkness we have suffered since their operation in Bayelsa. We will continue to occupy their office because we are tired of paying for darkness”, he said.
A resident, Emmanuel Charley, described the figure as a fluke saying he was happy with the action of IYC. “Am beginning to get more comfortable by using my generator, at least l can regulate my own time of how much energy l want to consume than paying for a light you don’t see. I stand with IYC”, he said.
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