The Akwa Ibom Government has petitioned the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) against alleged abysmal performance of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) in the state.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Power, Mr Meyen Etukudoh, disclosed this in Uyo on Monday.
Etukudo said that Gov. Emmanuel Udom was forced to drag the PHEDC to the NERC because of the persistent complaints by electricity consumers in the state against the company’s poor power supply.
He said that the Emmanuel’s administration had spent enormous resources in fixing power infrastructure in the state, and as such, the state should be considered in the power supply chain.
Etukudoh, who is also the Managing Director, Ibom Power Company, said the governor was angered by the prolonged absence of electricity supply in the state.
He said also that the distribution company had subjected electricity consumers in the state to untold hardship.
“It’s not that the state governor took PHEDC to court as the public was made to believe.
“The state government only petitioned PHEDC to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC),” he said.
He stated that NERC was the statutory agency with the mandate to arbitrate in matters between electricity consumers and the distribution companies.
“NERC is the body that regulates electricity supply in the country,” he added.
The special assistant however disclosed that Akwa Ibom would soon take delivery of 38,000 pre-paid electricity metres from PHEDC to distribute to consumers.
According to him, the measure was in response to agitation for pre-paid metres by the consumers.
TBIAfrica.com said the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that electricity consumers in the state have been groaning under poor power supply coupled with outrageous charges accruing from estimated billings.
NAN reports that some streets in Uyo and environs such as Obong, Asutan, Udoh, Eka and Esuene, have been having epileptic power supply for months.
