Daniel Efe/Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt, Government House, GRA Others suffer power cut due to shut down of Afam plant by aggrieved host communities in Rivers, Bayelsa.
Officials of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, have resumed discussion with representatives Oyigbo Youths Assembly who cut off power supply to Rivers state seat of Government, the Government House Complex Port Harcourt and the Government Reserved Area, GRA, and major part of the Port Harcourt metropolis for three days barely few days after some Ahoada youths forced the closure of a Transmission Station in Ahoada Town, Ahoada-East Local Government Area of Rivers State, that also cut off power supply to Yenagoa, Bayelsa state capital.
Investigation revealed that since the outage due to the protest by youth from host communities of Afam plant, Government House, residents in GRA, have been relying on private power generating plants.
Oyigbo Youth Assembly (OYA) stormed the Afam Transmission Station in Oyigbo Local Government Area at 10:34 am, last Monday morning and barricaded the station.
The youths who complained that the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) refused to supply Afam communities power over non-payment of electricity bills, thereby violating an earlier agreement with the Federal Government and vowed that they will never electricity bills as host community.
Oyigbo Youths Assembly through its Spokesman Mr Light Nwankwo, said PHED is owing the host community over N10 Trillion since 1962 when the Afam plant was built the community has never paid power bills and would never pay.
“We have given PHED 24 hours ultimatum to restore power supply to our community or we will take the laws into our hands and shut down entire so the both the state and federal government house will be in darkness. Alternatively, federal government should either give us light free or they can evacuate their installations we don’t need them”
However, the Manager, Corporate Communications, PHED, John Onyi who regretted the incident, saying that it was becoming the order of the day any time PHED initiates disconnection of power supply to the community following the non-payment of electricity bills in the last four years.
He also said that due to the intervention of the state Ministry of Power and other stakeholders power has been restored to aggrieved host communities and Port Harcourt metropolis.
Onyi expressed appreciation to the Rivers State government for the quick intervention and stressed that dialogue has commenced with host communities.
Onyi noted that in January, 2017, a similar action was meted out to electricity users when the youth in their large number, forcefully asked the operator on duty to shut down the entire station.
The spokesman explained that the value of energy being wheeled to the community based on the statistical meter on their feeder was over N5.8billion cumulatively with an average consumption of over N140million monthly.
According to him, ’Each time an attempt is made to enumerate the community for the purpose of accounting for the energy and sustainability of the power industry, it is always met with resistance from them.
“Worrisome also is the fact that all the commercial outfits in the area such as cold rooms, hotels, hospitals, welders, schools, among others, are not allowed to pay for energy consumed, yet, they are smiling to the banks with the proceeds of their businesses.
“On several occasions at different places, spanning over two years, meetings were held with relevant stakeholders, including the OYA in other to explain the implication of not allowing PHED to collect its money, yet, they pretend not to understand’’, he added.
Onyi said PHED was in business, adding that the survival of any business entity in the world thrives when customers pay for services rendered
He assured that the distribution firm will continue to engage its customers to foster collective growth through the provision of electricity to legitimate consumers.
According to him, “It must be noted that electricity supply is not free,” as he appealed to Oyigbo Youth Assembly to vacate the Afam Transmission Station with a view to returning normal social and economic activities to Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa residents have lamented the adverse effect of prolonged power outages on their economic and social lives.
Power supply to the state was cut off from the national grid on Jan. 23.
Many small business operators told our correspondent yesterday in Yenagoa that the development had adversely affected their businesses, which was worsened by high cost of petrol.
“For one week now, I have not seen any job to do because I don’t have the money to buy petrol and I am just praying that power is restored,” Okodion said.
Mr James Michael, an operator of a frozen food store at Onopa area of Yenagoa said that he lost all the products he stocked for sale within the first few days of the outage.
