The EEDC spokesman said that the Enugu State Government happened to be one of the indebted customers with over N1 billion owed to the company.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has raised alarm over the disruption of its operations by the Enugu State Government following its threat to disconnect power supply to indebted state governments’ offices in the South East.
In a statement, the company’s spokesman, Emeka Ezeh, said that on arrival at work on Tuesday morning, the entire staff were surprised to meet the EEDC Corporate Head Office sealed by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA).
According to him, this development is strange because there was no notice of any sort by the agency to the electricity company.
“We were informed by the security men on duty that in the early hours of Tuesday at about 1:53a.m., a group of men came and locked up the gates, claiming that the state government directed the action.
“Our Abakpa, Awkunanaw, and Ogui District offices were not spared as their gates were equally sealed and locked.
“As at now, there has not been any clear information/communication from ECTDA explaining their action.
“We, however, suspect that this action might not be unconnected to the notice of disconnection published by EEDC informing indebted customers of intention to commence disconnection today, Tuesday, June 11, 2024,” he said.
The EEDC spokesman said that the Enugu State Government happened to be one of the indebted customers with over N1 billion owed to the company.
“It is important to state that majority of the state government’s facilities are metered, so, it is not a case of estimated billing.
“EEDC has about N180 billion as debt owed the company in the entire South-East and has concluded plans to commence disconnection of indebted customers,” he said.
The company had announced it would begin disconnection on June 10.
READ ALSO:
N180bn debt: Electricity company to disconnect Enugu, Imo, Anambra govt houses, others
Meanwhile, Enugu State Government described the action of EEDC as unlawful, malicious, callous, and vexatious.
Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government in a letter to the EEDC Managing Director, Praveen Chorghade, on Tuesday in Enugu, faulted the company’s claim of government’s indebtedness to the company to the tune of N1.3 billion.
He said the disconnection of government offices, parastatals like College of Medicine Enugu State University Teaching hospital, Housing development Corporation, State Secretariat amongst others were unlawful and callous.
He explained that besides prompt payment of all electricity bills received from the EEDC since May 2023, Gov. Peter Mbah’s administration had cleared two months backlog of debts in line with the governor’s commitment to offset all legitimate electricity debts inherited from his predecessors.
Onyia said both the publication of notice of disconnections and the actual disconnections on June 8 were based on wrong premises and total disregard to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), rules and standing order on estimated billing of maximum demand customers.
Onyia noted that no disconnection would be carried out on any customer that was not metered and billed on estimation.
According to him, outstanding electricity bills are estimated billing of maximum demand on agencies and parastatals of the state government carried over from the last administration.
He said the current administration had diligently and promptly paid all bills received from May 2023 to date.
This, he said, included two months from the carried over bill which it had shown commitment in good faith to settle.
He said the action inflicted malicious damages to the image and integrity of the state government, describing the act as vexatious and completely unacceptable.
Onyia reminded the company that Enugu State Government carried out electricity infrastructure intervention projects investment, totaling N2.9 billion from which EEDC collected revenue.
“The government demands payments for the investment costs and other debts owed by EEDC to the government.
“We also demand immediate retraction of the malicious publication and immediate reconnection of all disconnected government agencies as the basis for a truce,” Onyia said.
