Pay your bills, hold PHCN, says Govt

By Samuel Oyadongha
YENAGOA —  Worried by the apathy of most residents of Yenagoa towards the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN,  prepayment billing system, the Bayelsa State government,  yesterday, urged Bayelsans to pay up their bills if they must hold the company accountable for services rendered.

Prior to the connection of the state to the national grid in 2006, the state government was spending about N20million  monthly to generate and distribute electricity free of charge to residents and the trend continued when the state was eventually hooked up, with the government paying in bulk to the PHCN for electricity consumption by its citizenry.

Although the PHCN had taken over the generation and distribution of electricity in the predominantly riverine state, Bayelsa State owned independent power plant, the Imiringi Gas Turbine still generate and evacuate 12 megawatts to the former to augment its 24 megawatts supply to the state with the result that residents enjoy constant electricity for 17 of the 24 four hours daily.

The state government had in partnership with PHCN late last year commenced the billing of electricity consumption by residents in the state after earlier introducing same to commercial banks and other business establishments.

Speaking at a PHCN interactive session for prepayment meter customers held in Yenagoa, the state Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Maxwell Oko said that the given the central role of electricity in the industrial development of any society,  the state government will continue to partner with the company to ensure regular supply and urged Bayelsans to cultivate the habit of paying up their bills,  so that they would be in better position to hold PHCN accountable when they are dissatisfied with services rendered to them.

According to him, investors would only be attracted to the state,  which he described as “a land of enormous potentials when there is constant electricity supply.”

“Government has made conscious effort to ensure that there is electricity supply for 17 hours out of 24 hours in Yenagoa. What we do is we evacuate 12 megawatts from Kolo Creek and this is augmented by PHCN with 24 megawatts and this is responsible for the constant electricity supply our people have been enjoying since November last year,” he said, adding that with hard work,  expected capacity of 111 megawatts would be achieved in the state.