The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc has cautioned its customers against engaging in dishonest practices and colluding with any corrupt staff members.
The company emphasized that it is not responsible for customer banding, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.
According to The PUNCH, during an exclusive luncheon titled ‘MD Customers’ Meet’ in Port Harcourt, Mrs. Ochuko Amah, the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of PHED, represented by Chief Financial Officer Efemena Elutabe, addressed customer complaints regarding some staff’s conduct.
Mrs. Amah stated, “As a customer, please don’t collaborate with fraudulent staff. When there is an issue, it normally takes some time because there is a procedure. But that procedure is not forever. So if a staff member says to you this problem will take some time but there is a shorter way, no. It is not our way. Report such staff and management will know what to do with that staff.”
The event aimed to foster dialogue with customers, understand their issues, and gather feedback to enhance service delivery. Amah highlighted that the company’s operations are customer-centric.
“This event is actually like an evolution of what we want to start doing. That’s appreciating our customers more. And finding time to really have that collaboration where we can get more feedback from them to know exactly what is happening within their own space in terms of not just managing their energy but also the interactions that they have with our staff at all levels,” she explained.
Addressing the efficiency of the new banding system and customer feedback, Amah urged consumers to monitor their energy supply closely.
She recounted an incident where a customer complained about not receiving 20 hours of energy due to a chief engineer’s diesel racketeering scheme.
“The reality is that the banding is not done by us. The banding is done by NERC and the banding is based on the availability of hours of energy that will go to that area. That is why I say it’s highly regulated,” Amah clarified.
PHED aims to enhance infrastructure to increase energy supply, eventually upgrading all areas to band A.
“We (PHED) just work with the banding and try as much as possible to provide infrastructure that will make some of these places have more light, that’s more energy. With that, it will be easy for us to move them up the band from D to C to B. Our real target is to move everybody to band A in the long run,” she disclosed.
