The
Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) has explained that
payment of outstanding debt by government’s ministries, departments and
agencies (MDAs) is of paramount importance if the electricity supply industry is
to survive in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.
The Chief
Executive Officer, PHED, Mr. Jay McCoskey, in a press statement made available
to ITRealms by Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Jonah Iboma, said the country’s electricity
industry has remained in dire straits due to huge unpaid debt, which informed
the decision to publish disconnection notices to all MDAs indebted to it.
He also said
that the refusal of MDAs to pay their long-standing debts represented the
biggest worry of the distribution companies in the country today, maintaining
that distribution companies were already grappling with too many issues such
that adding MDAs would constitute a burden too big for the industry to bear.
“As a
distribution company, PHED inherited a weak network, a relatively small
customer base compared to the population, massive electricity theft and several
other social ills related to electricity supply. For MDAs therefore to join
these barrages of problems by continuously refusing bills payment is like a
death sentence to the industry,” he said.
Also, McCoskey
said that given the huge revenue shortfall that PHED like other distribution
companies were experiencing, mass disconnection would have to be done to force
a change in the payment habits of consumers.
“We have
issued disconnection notices to all MDAs while at the same time engaging all
other indebted customers to ensure that they paid their bills. The industry no
longer runs on government subvention,” he noted.
Further, McCoskey
said that there would be marked improvement in service delivery once there is
better revenue collection from customers, especially MDAs, stressing that PHED
had already demonstrated this by recent initiatives that it has embarked upon.
“Our goal is
to provide our customers reliable service in terms of power supply and overall
customer experience. That is why we recently launched a 24x7 call centre and invested
heavily in several building commercial lines that provide dedicated power to
commercial users.
“We believe
that by giving power to companies, factories and industrial outfits, such
organisations will be able to continue to produce their goods and offer services
competitively and keep people employed. We hope that we will get government
support through prompt payment of bills and historical debts by MDAs,” McCoskey
submitted.
Uboshe Uboshe/GEE
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