Energy theft: Port Harcourt Disco warns customers over infractions

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc has warned customers in its franchise states against sharp practices and urged them to desist from colluding with any fraudulent staff of the company.

Additionally, the company stated that it is not responsible for the banding of customers, clarifying that banding is entirely the responsibility of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the body regulating the electricity value chain.

The PHED Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ochuko Amah, issued the warning during an exclusive luncheon for its maximum demand customers, tagged ‘MD Customers’ Meet’ in Port Harcourt.
Amah, who was represented by the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Efemena Elutabe, was responding to complaints by some customers about the activities of certain PHED staff.

She said, “As a customer, please don’t collaborate with fraudulent staff. When there is an issue, it normally takes some time because there is a procedure. But that procedure is not forever. So if a staff member says to you this problem will take some time but there is a shorter way, no. It is not our way. Report such staff and management will know what to do with that staff.”

She explained that the event was to exchange ideas with customers, understand their concerns, appreciate them, and get feedback, all aimed at providing better service. She pointed out that PHED is in business because of its customers, whom she described as key.

Amah stated, “This event is actually like an evolution of what we want to start doing. That’s appreciating our customers more. And finding time to really have that collaboration where we can get more feedback from them to know exactly what is happening within their own space in terms of not just managing their energy but also the interactions that they have with our staff at all levels.

“That’s the MD customers. So we are just doing this to make sure that we start having that collaboration. And at the same time, hear from them. See where we can have a win-win situation in helping them and also helping ourselves.”

On the efficiency of the recently introduced banding regime and feedback from electricity consumers, the PHED Managing Director urged customers to follow the energy by paying more attention to where it is being supplied.

“We had a customer who was complaining that they don’t get 20 hours of energy. Meanwhile, it was the chief engineer who was actually doing diesel racketeering at the end of the day. So they were actually getting more than 20 hours but he was not reporting it because he had to prove that they were using diesel, which they were not using.

“The reality is that the banding is not done by us. The banding is done by NERC and the banding is based on the availability of hours of energy that will go to that area. That is why I say it’s highly regulated.

“We (PHED) just work with the banding and try as much as possible to provide infrastructure that will make some of these places have more light, that’s more energy. With that, it will be easy for us to move them up the band from D to C to B. Our real target is to move everybody to band A in the long run,” she disclosed.