Electricity consumers in Kano are indebted to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) amounting to over N1 billion. The chief executive officer of the Kano office of PHCN, Mohammed Balogun disclosed this during the inauguration of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) yesterday in Kano.
Mr Balogun said non-payment of the electricity bill by consumers is one of the major challenges confronting the company, a situation he said, has adversely affected the performance of the company. He particularly mentioned the Kano State Water Board that owes the PHCN an accumulated debt of N51.3 million, pointing out that the dwindling income of the company has weakened its capacity to pay staff salaries and carry out maintenance works on its equipment.
“The non-settlement of outstanding bills owned by various government ministries, departments and agencies is a big challenge to the company.”
Apart from the non-payment of electricity bills by customers, another challenge facing PHCN, according to Mr Balogun, is the act of vandalism of electrical facilities, including transformers, cables and other accessories. He also revealed that the PHCN is poised to eradicate corruption in line with the Federal Government’s anti-corruption crusade, pointing out that 18 staff were disciplined for their involvement in corrupt practices.
“This war against the cankerworm called corruption must be a collective responsibility. We can only succeed in eradicating corruption in our system if our customers partner with us.
“It is no longer business as usual and there is no room for sacred cows. We are sending this clear message to corrupt-minded members of staff to desist from their illegal activities before the long arm of the law catches up with them.” Recently, the business manager of the PHCN in Akwa Ibom State, Chukwuemeka Otiji, expressed fears that the non-payment of electricity bills owed by customers in the state, currently standing at N900 million, was capable of crippling the electricity company if the debt was not paid.
Mr Otiji said that the amount could ground the company as it relied on such payments to run its operations since they were operating without government subvention.
He also said that 81 out of 755 substations in the district had been vandalised since 2009 and that the management of the unit had been able to replace only 48 of the vandalised substations through help from benefiting communities.
“I’m therefore calling on you to appeal to members of your communities to pay their bills promptly. Also, the company will not hesitate to disconnect electricity supply to any such community or area that prevents our officials from carrying out their official duties, if we realise the area is not safe for our field workers to do their work,” he said.
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