PHED Links Higher Electricity Bills to Band A Feeder Upgrades

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company (PHED) says some customers are paying higher electricity bills because their feeders have been upgraded to deliver better power supply.

 

Mrs Adamma Ogwuegbu, Head of Customers Service at PHED, gave the explanation in an interview on the sidelines of the company's Customer Appreciation event in Port Harcourt.

 

According to Ogwuegbu, the affected customers are seeing increased tariffs after their feeders were migrated to Band A. Customers on feeders upgraded to provide 24-hour electricity, she said, are expected to pay the tariff that comes with that band.

 

"Some customers are experiencing increased tariffs because their electricity feeders have been migrated to a band that supplies electricity 24 hours," she said.

 

Ogwuegbu said some customers still expected to keep paying the rates they paid before their feeders were upgraded. She blamed the problem partly on a limited understanding among customers of how supply levels relate to the tariffs charged.

 

The company, she said, is engaging customers to explain how tariffs differ across the electricity supply bands.

 

The PHED official stressed that electricity distribution is a business and that operators must recover revenue to keep running.

 

"For us to remain in business, when we sell, we should be able to recover the revenue that we receive.

 

"Failure to recover revenue could threaten the sustainability of electricity distribution operations," she said.

 

Ogwuegbu said customers should be willing to pay for electricity when supply is adequate and reliable. She added that PHED would keep engaging and educating customers on tariffs, feeder upgrades and the need for better revenue collection.

 

She also restated the company's commitment to improving customer service and handling complaints more effectively.

 

"The journey has not been perfect. However, we are committed to improving, listening better, responding better and treating our customers better," she said.

 

According to her, the appreciation event was organised to recognise customers whose patronage and support have sustained the company's operations.

 

 

Earlier at the event, Mr Emeka Ojoko, Executive Coordinator of NEPA Wahala, urged PHED to improve how it responds to customers' complaints.

 

Ojoko acknowledged that electricity supply had improved in some parts of Port Harcourt. He said, however, that the company's response to prolonged outages and other complaints remained inadequate.

 

"For a Band A customer, you should not have prolonged outages, but whenever I have them, the response time is not as good as it ought to be," he said.

 

He said customers often had to rely on personal contacts within the company to get their complaints resolved, a situation he described as unfair. Every customer, he stressed, deserves prompt attention regardless of personal relationships.

 

"Every customer deserves to have a listening ear. Even if you cannot solve the problem at once, somebody should respond promptly," he said.

 

Another customer, Mr Festus Ola, said electricity was critical to his steel production business, which needs substantial power to operate. He said supply to the company had improved significantly in recent months.

 

"In the past three to four months, we have never had power failure in our factory," he said.

 

The Chairman of PHED's Board of Directors, Chief Olice Kemenanabo, presented awards to the company's best customers across the four states it covers: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers.

 

Bayo Yao Iron and Steel Company won the Best Customer Award. Heliconia Park Hotel came second, and CWay Company placed third.