Also, the company said Afam community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State alone is indebted to it to the tune of N31.5 bn.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of PHED, Dr Benson Uwheru, disclosed this at a media parley as part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the company in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Uwheru said the PHED is one of the eleven distribution companies created as a result of the unbundling of the power sector by the Federal Government in 2013.
While describing the company’s 10th anniversary as the dawn of a new era and the celebration of the privatisation of the power sector in Nigeria, he said there has been some opportunities and myriad of challenges confronting PHED.
He said currently PHED has achieved 60 per cent revenue growth. Saying from a monthly revenue of N4.6 billion where he met it, the company now rakes in about N7 billion monthly and lauded its staff who he describe as the firm’s biggest assets.
The PHED MD said, “I must say that the last 10 years has been replete with hurdles and challenges. The transition came with legacy issues coming from the federal government controlled Nigeria Electric Power Authority as well as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.”
On some of the challenges, he said vandalism and unwillingness of some electricity consumers to pay bills are disturbing, saying Afam community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State alone was indebted to the company to the tune of N31.5 billion.
He stated, “Today N31.5 billion and still counting has been accumulated in a community called Afam in Rivers State, a community that uses power and they don’t pay for it,” adding that there are a couple of communities in Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom State that use power, but have refused to pay for it.
“Now when it gets to the MDA’s, the debt of the MDAs is over N200 billion in arrears. I will not mention any specific MDAs because they are our customers. My philosophy of leadership has always been dialogue and strategic engagement.
“I must thank MDAs also that are paying for their bills, including the state governments, particularly the Rivers State Government that continues to show exemplary leadership by paying for all their MDA’s that use power from the Disco,” he said.
The PHED MD urged other MDAs and other states to emulate Rivers to enable the company to achieveits mandate.
He added, “So my appeal is to all state governments within our franchise to find a way and means to ensure that their MDAs also fully meet and discharge their obligations to Port Harcourt Disco.”
Uwheru noted that the PHED is a privatised company, saying “Private individuals put in funds to buy this company. How do we return value back to the owners of the company?
“Today, when you look at the tariff, it is not cost reflective, the subsidy is not able to cover for the operational cost of running this business. So it is a sector riddled with all kinds of challenges, from lack of cost reflective tariff to lack of customers payments.
“Our metering gap also creates a challenge, vandalism is a big challenge. The number of transformers vandalized weekly is a big challenge in the sector.”
Continuing, he said, “The Afam community issue transcends before privatisation. They are existential and historical issues, but with time it has been aggravated. So the debts have accumulated over the last decade.
“Every month at least N400 million is what hits me on the energy that goes to Afam,’ saying the disposition of the community not to pay bill was an entitlement mentality that must change, adding that the company was already eliciting the understanding of the leaders of the area to help change the narrative.
