Power: Why Ijaw Youth Council block PHEDC Office for Bayelsa

"We don tire to pay for darkness for Bayelsa" dis na wetin Ijaw Youth Congress IYC tok as dem block di office of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company PHEDC for Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Dis na because for over one year, steady light no dey for Yenagoa and many parts of Bayelsa State even though di pipo dey pay electricity bill.

Chairman IYC Central Zone, Kennedy Olorogun tell BBC Pidgin say dem go continue to block PHEDC Office until di big ogas dia, come tok with dem how dem for take settle di light palava.

Olorogun say PHEDC no dey give light for Yenagoa until two or three days to di time dem go serve electric bill but after dem pay finish dem no go see light again. But last December 2019, dem agree with PHEDC to give dem at least 6 hours light but dem no fit meet up and so from 23 December 2019 till date no light at all for di whole State.

"We don tire to pay for darkness so we go block dis office till di big pipo for PHEDC go come tok with us, not di pipo wey bin tok with us before because dem no go fit do anything about dis problem.

Also, we want make PHED explain how Bayelsa pipo carry dey owe N16.5 billion light bill wey we no dey see light at all! Make dem explain wetin happen to all di money we dey pay dem for since electricity bill." Na so im tok.

But PHEDC say na dia customers for Bayelsa State na im dey owe dem N16.6 billion as at December 2019, not IYC so dem no know why IYC go come block dia office.

Tok tok pesin for PHEDC John Onyi tell BBC Pidgin say na since 23 December 2019 na im IYC come block dia office for Yenagoa pursue di workers comot so dem no fit come work, wey make dem no fit give light throughout di Christmas and New Year season.

Onyi explain say from dia records, PHEDC inherit N5.9 billion from Power Holding Company of Nigeria wey no dey work again with balance of N10.63 billion between 1 November 2013 till December 2019.

Im say further breakdown show say residential customers for Bayelsa dey owe N13. 47 billion while State Ministries, Department and Agencies for Yenagoa dey owe N2.5 billion and Federal MDAs get outstanding N91.5million. Oda commercial and business pipo dey owe over N388million. So dem no fit give light wen pipo no pay dia light bill.

Onyi add say no be true say dem no dey give light to Bayelsa State but as dem get power from di national grid na im dem dey distribute to di four states apart from Bayelsa wey dem dey also serve - Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

"For PHEDC we dey receive 250-300 megawatts of electricity daily from national grid and we get installed capacity of 1393, na so we dey share am according to di feeders. We get 218 11KV feeders and all di 11 feeders no fit come on board so we dey do load shedding energy management to manage am di light go reach everybody."

For Bayelsa we get six feeders and all di feeders no go fit come on at di same time so we dey do five to six hours as di case may be depending on each feeder. So no be true say we no dey give light."

Onyi say within di period, di average monthly bill for Bayelsa na N159million but wetin dem dey receive from dem na about N27 million wey be 17% and dem get 21,453 customers and only 3555 dey regular with dia payment.

"Even if pesin use electricity for 30 minutes, one hour or six hours, you go still pay your bill because e get cost, no be only wen you see light 24/7 you go pay. Make we encourage pipo wey dey di business dat is pipo wey dey supply gas, wey dey generate power, wey dey transmit and di pipo wey dey distribute. All di money dey come from one source and dat source na di customer wey go pay for wetin im consume. Dis money wey dem pay na im dey service all dis pipo I mention."

Im come add say PHEDC dey ready to sidon tok with IYC on way forward to resolve all dis issues but no be for dem to block dia office but dem ready for dialogue.