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Tag: blackout

  • Firm urges calm over blackout in four states

    The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) yesterday urged calm over blackout in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states.

    The Head, Corporate Communication, Mr. John Onyi, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said the blackout was caused by forceful shut down of the company’s offices and facilities by protesting workers.

    “PHED wishes to inform its esteemed customers that the blackout experienced in most parts of its coverage areas affected Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers and Rivers states.

    “The blackout is caused by organised labour`s action, which barricaded and shut down PHED offices and injection substations.

    “The shutdown has made it impossible for power to be wheeled out to our customers and exposed our prepaid customers to difficulties in vending (payment).

    “We are hopeful the contentious issues raised by the labour leaders will be resolved soon,” he said.

    Onyi appealed to customers to bear with the company and assured them that it was committed to restoring electricity to the states.

    The workers, under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), picketed PHED offices on Monday.

  • Three months blackout: Community laments economic losses, insecurity

    Electricity consumers in Ijegun Egba Community in Lagos State are counting their losses to three months power outage.
    An investigation by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shows that the community has been in blackout due to a faulty transformer.
    Some members of the community to NAN that the power outage was fuelling criminal activities.
    A youth leader, Mr Taofiki Rasak, said that there had been attacks on some residents by criminals due to the blackout.
    Rasak said the outage had paralysed socio-economic activities in the community, making life difficult.
    “Hoodlums are attacking us at night due to the darkness. Some residents have relocated from the community to Festac Town and Orile Iganmu because of the insecurity.
    “Some youths in the community wanted to destroy EKEDC’s equipment in the area but I stopped them. We are imploring EKEDC to restore power supply,’’ he said.
    Alhaja Tawakalitu Balogun, the Iya Oja General of Ijegun Egba Market, told NAN that traders were losing about N10 million monthly to the outage because of decay of frozen foods.
    Balogun said on many occasions buyers of frozen foods had returned them after discovering that they had spoilt.
    “I now act as a mediator between angry buyers and sellers anytime buyers return spoilt frozen foods bought from the market.
    “On behalf of traders in Ifelodun Ijegun Egba Market, I am appealing to EKEDC to restore electricity supply to the community. Traders are not at peace with their customers any longer.
    “The situation here is frustrating; there is no shop in the market today that does not have its own power generating set; the noise emanating from each generating set is affecting one’s hearing,’’ she said.
    A landlord, Alhaji Isiaka Olorunnisola, noted that the outage resulted from a faulty transformer.
    Olorunnisola said the residents had reported the blackout to the EKEDC District Office, Agboju, but had yet to get a relief.
    “The management kept making promises. It is annoying to see neighbouring communities enjoying electricity while we are in darkness,’’ he said.
    Contacted, EKEDC General Manager, Corporate Communications Mr Godwin Idemudia, told NAN that the company would look into the outage as quickly as possible.
    He assured the community that the company would send its personnel to come and rectify the problem.
    “We sincerely apologise for the prolonged outage,’’ he said.

  • Blackout: Ketu residents reject ‘crazy’ Bills

    Blackout: Ketu residents reject ‘crazy’ Bills

    •Protest five months of blackout

    Residents of Odutan Street in Ketu area of Lagos yesterday stormed the Ikeja District Electricity Company, IKDC’s office to protest over total blackout in the community and reject electricity bills numbering about 2,000.
    They called for an urgent intervention of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola in what they described as inhuman treatment by workers of the electricity company, saying the IKDC staff kept bringing estimated bills despite being in total blackout for over five months.
    The angry residents also lamented that for almost two years, they have applied and paid for the prepaid metres but yet to get any after several months of promises.
    Armed with placards of varying inscriptions, the angry residents called on the IKDC management to urgently restore power in the area. Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “Say No Billing without Light”, “Fashola Call IKDC to Order”; “Buhari, this is not the Change we voted for”; “We want Pre-paid Metres Now”; “Restore our Light in Odutan” among others.
    Speaking with journalists, Mr Ayo Badmus, 72, a resident, lamented that the residents were tired of receiving ‘crazy’ bills from the company, accusing it of being insensitive to their plights.
    He accused the IKDC of deliberately exploiting them through distribution of ‘crazy bills’, even when they could hardly boast of two hours of electricity supply in a month.
    “We are rejecting their bills. At a time when people manage to survive, the IKDC kept bringing crazy bills. Worst still, they are bringing these bills, when we can’t boast of 30 minutes of power supply daily. This is unfair, inhuman and insensitive at this time when the economy is nose-diving. We can’t continue like this,” he said.
    A resident, who simply identified himself as Ade,  said that the entire Odutan  Community has been without light for months, adding that despite IKDC’s gross inefficiency, they are fond of bringing over estimated bills.
    He said: “Why will some streets have light and while we will not? This is injustice because we pay bills regularly as others. It’s disheartening that the bills the IKDC is bringing don’t correspond with the power supply in the area.
    “We are also not happy with the estimated bills in spite of the blackout.  We want Mr Fashola to intervene.”

  • Eko Disco apologises over prolonged blackout

    The management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Saturday apologised to customers over continuous shortage of electricity supply.

    A statement by Mr Godwin Idemudia, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications in Lagos, blamed the shortage on a drastic reduction in the amount of electricity coming to EKEDC from the national grid.

    According to the statement, the company could only distribute what was allocated to it from the national grid.

    “We are, therefore, appealing to all our customers to bear with us as we try to ration whatever power is given to us in the interim.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this prolonged blackout, though most of our consumers are affected by this outage but some areas are deeply affected.

    “Areas deeply affected by the drop in generation are Ikoyi, Park View Estate, Victoria Island, Awolowo Road, Obalende, Idumagbo, Lagos Island, Oniru and Lekki areas,” the statement said.

    The statement disclosed that the outage had led to vandalism of cables and transformers by unscrupulous elements.

    It appealed to consumers within the network to be vigilant to stem the spate of cable theft and transformers vandalism.

    “We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to our customers to be vigilant over our equipment as vandals may capitalise on the outage to carry out their evil act,” it stated. (NAN)

  • Blackout threat

    Blackout threat

    •Need for urgent intervention in the power sector

    The latest news about the country’s power sector, barely three years after its privatisation, is not cheerful. The country is at the risk of total blackout by Christmas, if problems between the electricity generating companies (GENCOs) and the distribution companies (DISCOs) are not addressed immediately. The latest in the development of clogs in the wheel of electricity supply pertains to back-and-forth claims about money owed to GENCOs and DISCOs, which both claim may prevent them from providing electricity to customers, if the right intervention fails to come before Christmas.
    The magnitude of the problem is well captured by the Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Companies: “The debt is over N300bn that GENCOs are being owed. If the situation is not checked, there will be blackout. It is so imminent that I don’t know if most of the generation we are having now can go beyond Christmas if the payment problem is not solved. We can’t pay contractors; most of the machines are packing up.” Similarly, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors claims that it is currently owed N100bn, most of which is traced to various levels of government. The association is also worried about what it calls a shortfall of N809bn in the power industry and its negative effect on efficiency in the energy sector.
    The relationship between energy providers and citizens have for too long been defined by excuses. In the past, if failure to provide electricity was not about too much rainfall, it was about too little rainfall. If it was not about snakes damaging transformers, it was about thieves stealing electric cables. Years after privatisation, excuses include debt owed by consumers, billing difficulties and cash flows.
    If the new problem that may lead to total blackout is about outstanding debt owed to both generating and distributing companies, the solution is not to alarm innocent customers who pay their bills with threat of blackout. In the short-run, the appropriate response is for government to pay what it actually (actually because some of the debts might have derived from estimated billing, which is not verifiable) owes DISCOs while the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBETC) established as’ a middle man’ between GENCOs and DISCOs by the Federal Government is encouraged to pay what it owes to GENCOs. The threat of blackout makes it necessary for the government that established the NBETC to serve as guarantor for this debt, and there is no better time for the guarantor to play its role. But in the long-run, creating a third party between energy generating and distributing companies needs to be reviewed to ensure efficiency in the sale of energy by generators to distributors who then sell to customers. There should be no space for middle-men between sellers of wholesale energy and retailers to citizens.
    More importantly, DISCOs need to stop turning a business issue into public relations game by unions of distributors. Individual energy distributors need to heed the suggestion to provide verifiable evidence of what is being owed them by specific MDAs. Secondly, it is not good business culture for DISCOs to rely on estimation of energy use by customers. The technology for billing and collection of payments is too advanced globally for any serious electricity company to justify giving arbitrary bills to customers. Pre-paid meters and Online/POS payment systems are standard devices to guarantee reliable billing and efficient collection of payments in other climes. It is also wrong for DISCOs to visit problems of shortfalls in the power industry on innocent customers. Responsibility to have adequate funds as a private business rests solely on the DISCOs, which must have provided evidence of financial capacity before the Federal Government transferred public utilities to them. Estimated bills do not encourage transparency.
    We believe it is unethical for DISCOs to expect customers to pay bills that are arbitrary. With continued inefficiency in the power sector, there is no better time for President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit his election pledge: “Address the gaps in power sector privatisation to ensure it serves the needs of our people.” The electricity sector will not serve the needs of anyone if by Christmas or after, GENCOs and DISCOs have to opt for total blackout.

  • Debts: DisCos warn of nationwide blackout

    Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) yesterday warned that total darkness was imminent across the country as the huge debt burden owed the power firms takes toll on their operations.

    The burden of distribution, according to the companies, has become unbearable due to the refusal of electricity consumers to pay their bills.

    Electricity consumers across the country are owing electricity distribution companies over N100billion.

    The Executive Director, Advocacy and Research,  Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan who spoke during a customer consultative forum in Jos, Plateau State capital accused the Nigerian Army of leading the debtors’ lists.

    Some of the customers from Jebu Bassa, the host community of the Third Armored Division, had challenged the DisCos to explain the rationale behind constant electricity supply to the military barracks and the lack of it at their community.

    “We tend to wonder why we the host community don’t have light, but our tenants in the barracks have constant light and we were told that soldiers in the barracks don’t even pay light bill, is it that the companies are afraid of them to cut their supplies as you do to other consumers?

    Responding,  Mr. Oduntan said: “Almost all the military barracks in Nigeria, not only that of Third Division, do not pay electricity bill and that is the major challenge before the DisCos.

    “Military barracks across the country are owing us over N800 billion; they are the leading debtors to the the DisCos.

    “We have put the total debt owed us by all categories of consumers across the country, and out of that debt, the military alone is owing over N800billion.

    “It is not that we are afraid of cutting supply to the barracks, but for security reasons, we cannot cut electricity supply to the barracks. Part of the reason is because, the armouries are being maintained by electricity, to the extent that if there is no supply for a day, the armoury may explode and its explosion can endanger the lives of military and civilian population around the barracks.

    “But then, the inability of concerned government agencies to pay up this debt may eventually force the DisCos out of business and there would be total blackout across the country.

    “This is imminent because at the moment, we are heavily indebted to banks and electricity generating companies (GenCos) as well as those who supply gas and diesel to us. No bank will give us credit facilities to continue to distribute electricity because we have been unable to pay for our loans.”

  • Blackout/highbills: Electricity consumers knock phedc

    Electricity consumers in Akwa Ibom state have accused the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company (PHEDC) of fraudulently extorting members of the public without corresponding power supply.

    The consumers say the power company has completely neglected their responsibilities to members of the public, but has only made circulation of outrageous bills the most regular and visible aspect of their services to Akwa Ibom people

    Speaking with our correspondent in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Mr. Idongesit Ekpenyong, Resident of Anwa Nsa street, Uyo expressed disappointment that such fraudulent activities could be allowed to go unabated in the state.

    Ekpenyong said the entire PHEDC team in Akwa Ibom have displayed high sense of irresponsibility and fraud against members of the public by forcefully and constantly placing charges for services not rendered.

    He said the idea behind the estimated billing system was the company’s calculated plan to gain at the expense of the public as any appropriate billing system would have revealed the true state of services rendered.

    Citing his street’s experience for instance, the consumer expressed disappointment that after one year of total blackout due to faulty transformer, the company, after  installation of a new transformer,  facilitated by one of the residents sent in bills covering the one year period of the total blackout.

    His words: “Imagine a situation where you had no light in your area, not even a flash for one full year, and for this reason there was absolutely no point bringing in any bill, but after one year, one of the residents of the area facilitated installation of a new transformer, two weeks after the new transformer was installed, they brought in bills covering the entire periods of total blackout. So ridiculous it was that some flats were receiving bills of N150,000 and single rooms N50,000-70,000.

    “As though such daylight robbery was not enough, the people came in after a month to disconnect cables from virtually every building because no one could understand or succumb to such level of fraud, and where would anyone have gotten such amount in this era of economic recession to pay to a company that did not flash light even for a minute during the period of such fraudulent charge.

    “Some of us in this area had to go to their office to complain about the one full year of blackout,  the illegality of the bills sent, and they advised us to apply, which we did. Till this moment that I am speaking with you, our bills are still coming with those backlog of charges for power not supplied. They advised us to pay N2000 for reconnection, we did, but they did not come, they rather recommended an independent person who later came to reconnect on a separate charge.”

    Ekpenyong therefore called on the Akwa Ibom State government to call the company to order by advising them to desist from robbing members of the public for services not rendered.

    He suggested the need for the company to be properly monitored to ensure that their services justifies the amount charged members of the public.

    Another consumer and resident of Akpan Ukpo, off Esuene street, Mr Isaiah Udofia complained that PHEDC by its activities has defiled ?every sense of responsibility and duty owed members of Akwa Ibom public.

    According to Udofia, the company has adopted a strategy of supplying powers to most streets in Uyo just within 48 hours to distribution of bills, as a bait to lure the people to pay bills.

    He said: “If you are resident in Uyo, observe these people closely,  you would notice that they usually bring light two days to the 15th day of every month that they usually go about to ?circulate bills, the moment they are done with bills circulation, such light will go off till same time next month.

    “In addition to poor supply of power, the bills have also become so high that one is left to wonder if power bill is the only thing one should be doing with his monthly income. While some apartments are receiving bills of between N8-12,000 every month, single bedrooms are charged as high as N5000 every month, I honestly do not understand what these people are up to.”

    In response to the public outcry on fraudulent and outrageous bills despite poor power supply by PHEDC, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has publicly criticized the power distribution company over  their ?illegal activities against electricity consumers.

    This followed a notice of motion brought before the House by member representing Ibesikpo Asutan State constituency Mr. Aniekan Uko during one of its plenaries. The motion was titled: “The unwholesome and alleged fraudulent charges on electricity consumers in Akwa Ibom State by PHEDC”

    Uko frowned at a situation where electricity consumers in the state particularly in rural communities were made to pay accumulated tariff even when they never consumed or had power supply within those periods of time.

    He prayed the house to urge the management of PHED Company to be responsible for the repairs, replacement and buying of broken down electricity equipments as stipulated by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC.

    “A situation where electricity consumers including unmetered houses and communities neither enjoy quality electricity supply nor see light for months due to prolonged breakdown of electricity equipment like the transformer but made to replace, repair or buy the transformer is far from being transparent” he said

    Lawmakers who spoke on the matter including Leader of the House and member representing Oruk Anam state constituency, Udo Kierian Akpan and member representing Mbo,  Samuel Ufuo stressed the need for the house us to interface with the management of the PHEDC and institutions especially affected by the situation.

    This they submitted would help them to come up with a lasting solution to solving the lingering problem while taking into consideration that there was a similar motion brought before the house at the beginning of the year.

    The Speaker Hon Onofiok Luke after listening to the submissions urged the House committee on Rural Development and Public Utilities and Committee on Commerce, Industry and Tourism to harmonize the two motions and report back to the house within two weeks.

    Efforts to reach the Public Affairs managers of PHEDC, Mr John Onyi proved abortive as he neither attended to his calls not reply text messages

  • 1,000 Kaduna youths protest one-year blackout

    1,000 Kaduna youths protest one-year blackout

    Youths numbering over a thousand yesterday blocked the Ibrahim Yakowa Expressway around the popular Kamazo, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, to protest lack of electricity in their area for close to a year.

    The youths who came from Janruwa community said they had only one transformer covering the whole area and that the transformer had broken down for over one year, leaving the area in total darkness since.blackout

    Male and female youths in the area brandished leaves and placards with various inscriptions. They barricaded the road on both lanes and hindered vehicular movement.

    When military and police personnel who got the report and arrived at the scene saw that it was a peaceful demonstration, they did nothing to disperse the crowd. The leader of the military unit advised the youths to undertake the demonstration peacefully after they explained their grievances to the security agents. They did not leave the road until a government functionary came and addressed them, assuring them that their matter will be taken up.

    One of the demonstrators said: “We came out since 5:00 a.m. to protest the blackout in our area for over a year now. Since last year, we have not seen light with our eyes. Our transformer got spoilt and we were promised another. We did not get the other transformer neither did we see light. We have made repeated attempt to get the attention of the government, but all to no avail. That is why we decided to come out en masse to protest peacefully. With this, we are sure of getting government’s attention. Our protest is peaceful; we are not destroying anything and we are not harassing anyone. Our only aim is to make our predicament known, that is all.”

    Meanwhile, a swift reaction from the Head, Corporate Communication of Kaduna Electric, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, assured the Janruwa community of restoration of normal power supply through a statement. It read: “The Management of Kaduna Electric wishes to express its deep concern over the power supply situation in Janruwa, a community in the suburb of Kaduna. It is pertinent to state that since the failure of the transformer serving the community in August last year, the company has not rested on its oars. On two different occasions within the period under discussion, the company took transformers to the community to ensure restoration of normal power supply, but unfortunately the two transformers failed.

    “The current management of Kaduna Electric appreciates and accords significant importance to constructive engagements with its customers and other stakeholders alike. It is in recognition of this fact that on Tuesday this week, 29th March, 2016, the company held a very fruitful meeting with leaders of Janruwa community led by the Dakachin Janruwa at our Barnawa Area Office. The meeting, of course, among other things, reviewed the situation and the community leaders were properly briefed on the efforts being made by the company to ensure early restoration of power supply to the community.”

  • Residents storm Eko Disco office over blackout

    Residents storm Eko Disco office over blackout

    FOR the second time in three weeks, some residents of Ilasamaja near Mushin, Lagos, have stormed the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) office, protesting against what they termed “in human treatment”.

    The protesters, who reside in Igbehin Community in Ilasamaja, have been without light for four weeks.

    They blocked the gate of EKEDC Mushin Business Unit at Five Star Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, demanding restoration of their light.

    Many of the protesters, who gathered as early as 7am, lamented the power outage in the community for the past one month.

    The protest took off from the community chief’s palace.

    The protesters blocked the road when security refused to open the firm’s gate, causing heavy traffic.

    Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) operatives ensured orderliness.

    The inscriptions on their placards read: “Bring back our light,” “No more crazy bills” and “Give us prepaid meter.”

    After a two-hour protest, the community’s representatives were allowed into the premises for a meeting with EKEDC’s officials.

    During the meeting, an officer from Mushin Police Station, Zone D,’ reportedly slapped an expectant mum, Mrs Esther Amudike, who was among the protesters outside. It all happened while she was trying to explain to our reporter how lack of electricity has affected her business.

    The officer had earlier threatened to shoot the protesters, cocking his gun to scare them.

    It took the intervention of Zone ‘D’ Divisional Police Officer and some NSCDC officers to calm the protesters.

    Mrs Amudike said: “I trade in frozen foods and I have two deep freezers in my shop. I was shocked when I received N70,000 bill. They have been exploiting me and I don’t make up to that amount monthly.  It is really unfair. We cater for our families through different means. I am fed up. Justice should be done.”

    One of the protest champions Mr Dauda Adelakun said the frequent power outage is fuelling crime and rape in the community.

    Another resident, Mrs Bukola Osayemi, said she was shocked to meet N37, 000 bill on her return from trip.

    She said: “I travelled since April, when I came back in August, I met the bill and I have not been at home. I paid N20, 000 out of the money and three days after, they brought another N17, 000 bill for the month of July. I kept wondering if they missed the house number because I made sure I put off my appliances before I travelled.”

    A trader, Olabisi Akpan, who lamented the economic effect of the power outage on her business, said: “We have nine shops and we were billed N80, 000 last month, when we went to their office, they exploited us. It has affected my business, we need a positive change.”

    A trader, Mrs Sarat Owolabi, said they were being exploited with the high bills.

     She said: “We are yet to reach a compromise. I have lost count of the number of meetings we’ve had. We were asked to come September 18 but when we got there, the meeting was postponed till September 23. It is so sad. We celebrated the last Sallah in darkness.”

    Ahmad Yusuf, who occupies a two-bedroom flat, said the bill was too outrageous.

     “How can they say they are reading our metres when we don’t have one metre on our street let alone in my flat? Whenever I complained of the bill in their office, they tell me it will be reduced the following month but I must pay N5, 000. They know what they are up to. They know what they want to achieve. We have been requesting for prepaid metres but we are yet to get. Our neighbouring streets have been given. What is our offence?  Imagine a shop paying N18, 000 monthly when it is not a bakery. We were here last week, thinking we could plead with them to restore our light for the Sallah celebration, the official we met said it was his birthday and he wasn’t ready for work. This is too much; we can’t bear it anymore. We want the government to rescue us,” Yusuf said.

    Chairman, Igbehin Landlord Association, Elder Fagbohun said: “The crazy bill is frustrating. Our light was disconnected for more than two weeks and the officials insisted we paid all charges before the light was restored. We have been blackmailed that we came with ammunition but it is not true. We only came with pen and paper.”

    Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, the community’s Baale, Chief AbdulRasheed Asheni-Irokosu, said EKEDC promised to restore light.

    Chief Asheni-Irokosu said another meeting has been fixed for October 5, at the EKEDC Marina Headquarters on the exorbitant tariff.

    He thanked residents for their peaceful conduct.

     “They will still bring bills but not outrageous ones. If they don’t, we will mobilise all our residents to their office again. EKEDC officials should be well trained because within the little period, we have been treated with utmost disrespect. They should know they can’t be there without us,” he said.

  • We can’t take IKEDC blackout any more

    We can’t take IKEDC blackout any more

    End to electricity consumers’ protests against poor services by the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) appears interminable, as more communities complain about what they called “total darkness” and alleged rip-off by officials of the company.

    Tempers grew recently in some communities in Isheri-Oshun and their environs over the poor showing of the company.

    Leading some angry residents of Isheri-Oshun, Ikotun, Ijegun, Ayanwale, Adetoro and others in a protest against IKEDC, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Isheri-Oshun Unit took to the streets in protest of what they alleged to be a deliberate ploy by officials of the IKEDC to extort various sums of money from them without corresponding power supply.

    The protesters marched from the Rights House on Jordan Street Isheri-Oshun through streets in the area and stormed the IKEDC office on Chief Akwaiwu Street in the early morning of Wednesday, September 2, alleging, among other things, that the company placed them on “perpetual power blackout, non-installation of pre-paid metres and payment of bills by estimation”.

    In a chat with Southwest Report, the Coordinator of CDHR, Dr Chinedu Ifechigha said: “Metres are not read but bills are sent on estimated basis. We maintain that metres should be read to ensure that right and appropriate bills are paid for. We demand that pre-paid metres are installed in the homes of all consumers. To have light is our right and nobody pays for services not rendered.

    “It is unjust for service providers to demand illegal money from the masses for they did not provide. We say no to unjust treatment.”

    Members of CDHR leading others during the protest
    Members of CDHR leading others during the protest

    Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters, through the human rights group said if the alleged humiliation by officials of the company did not stop, “we will be left with no other option than dealing with, and resisting with stiff opposition, any official of the company found within our communities for the purpose of disconnection of power or collection of any levy within the affected communities.

    “We think it’s inhuman and unreasonable to expect the people to pay estimated and crazy bills when they didn’t use light. The constant harassment and embarrassment of the people by IKEDC officials to pay bills is totally uncalled for.”

    Dr Ifechigha further noted that Isheri-Oshun and some adjoining communities have experienced indescribable hardship as a result of poor showing by the electricity company, a situation which has affected socio-economic activities in the affected communities, even as he said social life in the areas has become uninteresting. Both large and small-scale businesses have been grounded.

    “Apart from these, people’s lives are at risk because the ugly trend has engendered a situation where almost every home has resorted to the use of power generating sets, which, most often, results in loss of lives. We say no to harmful neglect,” Dr Ifechigha said as he handed a copy of their protest letter to the manager of the Ijegun unit of IKEDC, Engineer Samuel; a copy of which was made available to Southwest Report.

    The letter signed by Dr Ifechigha and Comrade Mike Akpan, Coordinator and Secretary-General of the group respectively read: “We the members of Isheri-Oshun Unit of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), in conjunction with civil societies of Nigeria are disheartened as regards your operational services in power supply within the locality.

    “We are aware that you give priority to some areas than others; areas without power supply pay higher tariffs/charges than those enjoying your minimal supply; you have worked up increment of tariffs/charges despite the fact that there is no power supply; your inability to improve your services had added much on expenses of buying fuel for generators and so forth. Your poor services has crumbled the people’s economy and made life uncomfortable, unbearable and unsatisfactory.

    “We, therefore, mandatorily direct that you do the following: all areas within your jurisdiction must have adequate, full and constant power supply; further increment on tariffs/charges cancelled; illegal disconnection henceforth should be stopped; we should know why people living at Ayanwale, Boltex Street, Unity Street, Boripe, Amusa Ishola Street and their environs are exploited; we understand that you divert power supply meant for these areas to industrial areas to the detriment of the people living in the affected areas.

    “We expect total sanity within 14 days; after which there will be no payment of electricity bills within your jurisdiction; illegal disconnection will be crossed with all amount of opposition and such staff will regret doing such; increment in tariffs/charges is illegal and unacceptable. Services must be paid for and the services must be rendered.”

    Responding, Manager of the Ijegun Unit of the IKEDC, Engineer Samuel said since he took over the managerial responsibility of the unit four months ago, there has been improvement in power supply to consumers, even as he debunked allegation that the IKEDC is ripping consumers off.

    “Since I assumed office as the manager of this unit, people have been commending me on how I have improved the power supply situation. Power supply has improved in Okemuyi, Ijegun, Ayanwale, Adetoro and other communities.

    “I am not saying we have achieved the optimum but we will get there; Rome was not built in a day. It’s a gradual process,” he said.

    On the pre-paid metres, he said the process of installation has started, even as he warned consumers not to give anybody money for the installation as the facility is provided entirely free.

    He, however, appealed to the protesters and other consumers to be patient with the company as it is doing all it can to improve on power supply to its customers.