Mkpoikana Udoma 11 January 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – As a means of curbing energy theft in the country, the management of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC, has advocated that customers who bypass meters or make illegal connections should be arrested and prosecuted.
PHEDC said the call came in response to spate of violence on electricity workers by consumers who do not want to be disconnected from power supply even when they have not paid their bills or have made illegal connections or bypassed their meters.
A statement by the Internal Communications and Media Monitoring Officer of the Port Harcourt Disco, Ms. Sophilia Obire, said arresting offenders would not only serve as deterrence to other offenders but would also create sanity in the system.
PHEDC in the statement, however, admitted that there were challenges facing the country’s power sector which needed to be addressed.
According to the statement, “The fact is that there have been too much stories of attacks on Disco officials whose only crime is carrying out their legitimate duties. “There are challenges in the electricity industry that needs to be addressed. It is a Nigerian problem and the power sector is tackling it. But to become outlaws as a result of these challenges and instigate a dog attack on a Disco official is taking it too far”.