Electricity consumers all over the country heaved a sigh of relief, following the decision of the federal government to handover the operation of Power Holding Company Of Nigeria to private operators nationwide.
The handover of electricity business to private individuals was seen as the final solution to curb incessant power supply to millions of household and business concerns, and a means to boost the economy, especially through small and medium scale enterprises.
But so far, the reverse has been the case, as major cities and businesses still groan under epileptic power supply. A look at the state of electric power in some areas of Lagos and some parts of Nigeria show that residents have been experiencing epileptic power supply. Investigations have revealed that more than three months after the take-over of the company, power consumers across the state are yet to see improvements in the area of power supply.
Uche Nnamdi,a resident of Orile Iganmu accused PHCN of being cruel and inconsiderate. “These people lack conscience. They have the guts to bring unreasonable bills to us despite the frequent blackouts that we have been experiencing.
The annoying thing they do is, they just withhold the power for no just cause, then when they want to give out bills, they restore the power. As soon as we have settled our bills, they withdraw the power again. This has been the trend for a long time now”.
On his part, Muftau Akerele said the power situation in his area since the take over has remained the same.“The handover to private operators has made no difference. I think, things have even taken a turn for the worse.They are only good at sending out bills. Despite the poor service,they are very fast at demanding for payments. I can count the number of times I have had power supply this year”.
The worst hit are small business operators, who now spend more on fuel to keep their businesses running. A business centre operator who spoke on condition of anonymity said the situation is very pathetic. “I think the best thing is to cut away completely from the public power supply and rely solely on generating sets for power.
It is sheer wickedness on their part and outright stupidity on my side to keep paying for what I don’t use. I don’t see any solution to the problem of power generation even with private operators taking over. It hasn’t really been easy for us businessmen as we spend most of our profits on fueling our generating sets”. The implication is that inflation will rise as additional operating cost is passed on to the consumers.
Another aggrieved resident, Comfort Eke who operates a hair dressing salon said residents are not getting value for their money.
“The fee we pay is very exorbitant, despite the fact that we hardly see the light to use. All the officials are good at is dishing out bills and disconnecting light. There hasn’t been any significant change since the handover. We only see them patrolling about looking for wires to disconnect. I don’t know when things will change for the better. We are spending so much on fuel to stay afloat”.
However, Collins Awa, a banker urged Nigerians to be patient. “We shouldn’t expect a miracle to happen overnight. I don’t think the change we are expecting in the power sector will be automatic. I think it’s too early to start condemning them, we should give them more time to execute the plans and projects they have. I am optimistic that this move will be beneficial to us.”
Vanguard
via nigerianeye
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