Energy theft has emerged as Nigeria’s greatest economic threat and setback to the gross domestic product (GDP), Jay Allen McCoskey, an American electricity management expert now heading of Nigeria’s power distribution companies, says.
McCoskey, the new CEO of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED), who recently replaced Jon Abbas, said the power sector was threatened by widespread loss of revenue that would had helped to fund the value chain, saying the gas suppliers and generating as well as transmission companies had been starved of funds.
Giving the example of Port Harcourt zone comprising of Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, the CEO said the company had so far lost about N36 billion in just over one year after supplying four billion kilowatt-hours of power with 55 percent of it lost.
McCosky, who worked in Jamaica and some other countries in the power sector, was addressing a gathering of media practitioners in Port Harcourt during a sensitisation briefing to ward love for energy theft.
The CEO named governments, their agencies, the armed forces and residents as some of the highest debtors. He also said more then 20 per cent of the loss comes from lost energy in transmission due to weak wires and cuts that make the power supplied not to get to targeted areas.
He said: “This kills productivity and national growth. It is both a national problem and a personal matter because individuals are not getting enough power to execute projects because of theft and illegal connections.”
He revealed plans to embark on mass disconnections within the four states especially the huge debtors including governments, saying this was why PHED has begun public notices on the upcoming exercise.
The CEO said it was an opportunity for debtors to pay up or work out payments with PHED on time to avert ugly outcomes. He said payers could get as high as 10 per cent discount on old debts being cleared, but said clean consumers would get impeccable services henceforth including uninterrupted call service to the call centre to report errors day and night.
Admitting that some PHED staff members had done illegal deals in the past, the CEO said the company now has zero tolerance for fraud and asked consumers to use new platforms made available to report fraudulent activities and theft cases.
The American expert noted that Nigeria has a past where there were no consequences for not paying bills, added that some states such as Bayelsa had enjoyed free electricity for years. To them, he said, it is a shock to be told to pay for power. “Now, you will be de-lighted for not paying your electricity bill”.
Speaking later, Chinedu Amah, CEO of Spark Media online, an emerging major media player in the energy sector, said the media outreach was to make media practitioners sign up to the websites and interact freely with happenings and stakeholders in the energy sector, share information, report thefts, and help educate Nigerians on the benefits of paying for electricity.
PHED is made up of the four state governments and three investors who paid up about $150m (about N30bn) to acquire 60 percent of the Disco in 2013 from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The public relations manager of PHED, Jonah Iboma, told the media group that the journey to privatised power sector was full of thorns and unfilled expectations, saying until Nigerians paid for energy consumed, the sector would continue to suffer setbacks. “Theft must be dealt with, vandalism is a threat that must be tackled, and community attacks are too bad for the sector.”
Ibomah said there is now a technology that would enable Discos to disconnect erring and volatile communities from afar. “Theft and non-payment are most serious in the Niger Delta”.
