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THE outage occasioned by the face-off between the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) and the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has entered the 10th day with unpleasant consequences.
On December 23, 2019, the IYC besieged the offices of the PHEDC and forced the staff members to shut down operations, occupying the premises to protest against poor power supply to residents.
The development, which resulted in the blackout in Yenagoa and its environs, Ahoada and some parts of Rivers State, has made residents to rely wholly on generators with resultant increase in petrol demand and cost of living.
Findings by the New Experience Newspaper in Yenagoa indicate that filling stations now struggle to cope with long queues of residents who throng the stations and wait for hours to buy fuel in jerry cans.
It was learnt that dialogue and other efforts to resolve the conflict was stalemated, as the company claimed that it was grappling with a N16.5 billion debt as of November 2019, which hindered its operations.
The IYC subsequently challenged PHEDC to substantiate its claim that customers in Bayelsa owed N16.5 billion.
Central Zone Chairman of IYC, Kenedy Olorogun, who gave an update on a dialogue sought by the Bayelsa State Government to resolve the face-off, said the debt claim was a ‘fairy tale’ to cover up incompetence.
He said information from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) showed that there was sufficient power at the substation in Gbarain, Yenagoa, but the PHEDC was not supplying power to homes.
Investigation showed that TCN, on August 20, 2019, announced the lifting of a suspension order from the electricity market it placed on the PHEDC on July 27, 2019, for breach of Market Conditions and Participation Agreement.
A notice on TCN’s portal also indicated that the lifting of the sanction was a regulatory measure to ensure that distribution companies evacuate available power.
TCN said that lifting of the sanction followed PHEDC’s compliance and took effect on August 19, 2019.
The PHEDC and TCN had been trading blame on the poor power supply in Bayelsa, with TCN saying that the PHEDC was unable to take up available power at its substation, while the PHEDC alleged that it was not getting enough power from the TCN’s grid.
Olorogun said the N16.5 billion debt had no bearing with power supply to Bayelsa, which was the basis of the protest, adding that the claim was cheap blackmail.
“We call on PHEDC to produce a proof of its claim with all necessary documents, or be ready to face legal actions by Ijaw people for defamation of character caused by the allegation.
But Corporate Communications Manager of PHEDC, John Onyi, told NAN that the development had taken a negative toll on the company, causing untold hardship to its customers.
He said Ahoada Community also shut down PHEDC office in the area, leading to blackout in the town during Christmas, adding that PHEDC staff members were now living in fear, as the IYC had warned them not to be spotted around the offices and claim it has taken over offices in Yenagoa.
In addition, the IYC threatened that any vehicle belonging to PHEDC spotted in Yenagoa would not only be seized, but will have its driver or any occupants assaulted.
“The IYC is demanding uninterrupted power supply and removal of breakers. At various meetings previously held with the IYC, PHEDC made it known that installation of breakers was for administrative convenience of the company and not to jeopardise the life span of the equipment.
“On the 24-hour daily power supply, the IYC has repeatedly been told that limitations from the national grid does not allow that for now as PHEDC gets its share based on what is generated.
“The responsibility of PHEDC, for the umpteenth time, is to distribute what it gets to its customers in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states.
“Yenagoa is not marginalised in terms of power supply as alleged by the Ijaw Youth Council, but it is a common knowledge that every disco, including PHEDC, does systematic load shedding.
“The sustainability of not only PHEDC, but the power sector generally depends on payment of electricity bills by customers,” Onyi said.