Port Harcourt DisCo, Ibom Power tango over corruption, poor services

THE PORT HAR COURT ELEC TRICITY DISTRI BUTION company (PHED), one of the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in the country, is seeing a widening of its falling-out with its franchise areas, namely. Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

The last time, it was trouble with the multi-million-naira Calabar headquarters of the Cross River Water Board (CRSWBL), which accused the PHED of unfair deal over its unilateral power supply cut from the state water company. Till date, the DisCo is yet to sort out the tiff. This time, it is hot potato with Ibom Power, the Akwa Ibom State power firm lashing at the electricity distribution company for allegedly carefully perpetrating corruption and poor services to the oil-rich state.

Mayen Etukudoh, the managing director of Ibom Power had alleged that PHED has been curiously taken over by corruption, with most of its employees “only interested in bill collection rather than the technical aspects of the job.”

He also adduced that the practice has “hindered the DisCo from providing electricity to households in Akwa Ibom State.”

“Most of the people in PHEDC are not supposed to be there. About 70 percent to 80 percent of PHEDC staff are ex-bankers, who pay attention to bill collection rather than doing the technical aspects of the job.

“They brought in some old retired NEPA staff; and they don’t even listen to them. Corruption has taken over PHEDC,” Etukudoh, an engineer and special assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on power, had earlier alleged.

He said, in a determination to provide 24-hour electricity supply to all of Akwa Ibom, Governor Emmanuel distributed 442 electricity transformers in the state; but lamented that the complaints of lack of electricity across the communities were because PHEDC had not provided supply to those lines.

However, PHED, in a decided response to the Ibom Power boss’ accusations, said it was rather bemusing and “very unfortunate that such a discordant voice was coming from a supposedly partner in the electricity industry.”

“PHED is yet to understand the rationale behind such unfounded and malicious statement coming from a major key player like (Etukudoh) who is also an intermediary between (Akwa Ibom) State and the PHED,” John Onyi, manager, corporate communications at PHED, said in a statement to Business A.M.

He claimed that Etukudoh had represented the state in series of meetings between PHED and Akwa Ibom targeted at improving electricity supply in every nook and cranny of the state just like in any other area.

Onyi, whose PHED has come under widening recriminations lately from most of its customers, over appalling services and alleged cases of collusion with residential neighbourhood associations leaders to task residents into making financial contributions to repair/purchase power transformers, said PHED was a “responsible organisation that has zero tolerance for corruption.”

“The management of PHED under the leadership of Dr. Henry Ajagbawa has reinvigorated the fight against corruption in different dimensions from sanctioning to naming and shaming of offenders arising from energy theft, meter bypass, unauthorized access to the network, among many others,” he said in a hard effort to exculpate the company from the bold accusations.

He said the DisCo had undertaken projects in Akwa

Ibom “aimed at service improvement.” He listed these to include: rehabilitation of Itam 2x7.5 MVA 33/11kv injection substation; condition monitoring of 12 in the state; installation of complete protection scheme and rehabilitation of 11kv panel at Itam injection substation; filtration on 1x15 MVA 33/11kv at Ikot Ekpene to improve availability on outgoing 11kv feeders; as well as carrying out several maintenance jobs on the network.

The PHED spokesman also said the company embarked on massive investment in electricity infrastructure with the construction and stringing of a new feeder and its configuration to evacuate 48 megawatts from Rumuosi transmission station in Port Harcourt to augment the daily allocation from the national grid. It said it launched a 24/7 call centre, to give its customers unfettered access to report service faults anytime with real time resolutions.