EKET – The residents of Eket, Akwa Ibom State have complained about alleged exorbitant electricity bills they received from the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).
The residents laid their complaints in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket on Sunday.
Mr Samuel Amos, a businessman in Eket, alleged that the consumers were not getting commensurate services from the company.
Another resident, Mr Uko Emmanuel, observed that since the handing over of the power sector to the privately owned companies, there had not been noticeable improvement in power supply.
Mr Etorobong Inyang, a journalist, said six month into privatisation of the power sector, electricity consumers had yet to witness the much anticipated improvement in the sector.
“Unfortunately the new owners including the PHED are not showing that they are private companies in the way they are handling the power sector.
“They have not improved power infrastructure in their areas of operation; we still have dilapidated transformers, system failures and corruption in the way bills are given to consumers,’’ he said.
He called on the National Electricity Regulation Company to monitor and regulate the performances of the power companies to ensure efficiency.
But Mr Mandu Reginald, the Uyo Unit Manager of PHED, said the challenges faced by the consumers were being addressed.
Reginal said that since he assumed duty in the area, he had been working to ensure that customers were supplied with meters.
“I want to assure my customers that they will get satisfactory services; without the customers we won’t be in business; so I am pleading with everyone to be patient,’’ he said. (NAN)
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