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The business
manager of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in Akwa Ibom
State, Chukwuemeka Otiji, has 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, who said
this in Uyo yesterday, added that the amount could ground the company
as it relied on such payments to run its operations since they were
operating without government subvention.

Speaking with
members of the customers consultative council, Uyo Business District,
Mr Otiji explained 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,” he pleaded.

He stated that the
business unit, which was formerly one, had been split among the three
senatorial districts of the state to include Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene.
He advised the people not to build houses or do business under low or
high-tension lines of the company.

“A lot of people
have received injuries or have died as a result of snapped conductors
either resting on their buildings or falling directly on them. We
should always avoid doing anything under the PHCN lines,” he advised.

Mr Otiji decried
situations where people molest PHCN staff in the course of their work,
saying, “Management frowns at this barbaric act and therefore appeals
to this august gathering to assist PHCN by advising youths in your
respective communities to desist from such act.

“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.

The newly elected
chairman of the customers consultative council, Uyo Business District,
Emmanuel Ebong, promised to work with the organisation’s management for
smooth service delivery in the area.

Mr Ebong, who said electricity was an important national resource,
enjoined members of the council to support the business unit to achieve
efficiency.