The Port Harcourt Electricity
Distribution Company (PHED) has called on concerned authorities to
call protesters to order following the shutting down of a power
station belonging to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Mr John Onyi, PHED’s Manager,
Corporate Communications disclosed on Friday in Port Harcourt that
angry youths forcibly evicted workers from the facility.
He said the protesters later seized the
facility, resulting to the current electricity blackout in many parts
of Port Harcourt and environs.
According to him, the power station
belongs to TCN but PHED depended on the facility to distribute
electricity to customers.
“Some residents of Ogbunabali
community, on Thursday stormed the 132/33kv transmission station with
fetish items and forcefully switched off supply, thereby plunging
some parts of Port Harcourt and Government House into darkness.
“This action by the community led to
the inability of TCN to wheel out power to PHED for distribution to
its customers in the affected areas.
“The protest by residents of the
community over power outage is becoming a social menace.
“We appeal to community leaders to
prevail on their wards and children to desist from taking laws into
their own hands whenever faults occur on feeders in the community,”
he appealed.
Onyi said that protesters had in 2017,
shut down the same facility over demands for 24-hour power supply,
employment and compensation.
He expressed regret that the residents
would vent their frustration on PHED when the facility belonged to
the Federal Government.
The spokesman pointed out that the
company only transmitted what it received from TCN.
“PHED has no authority over the
asset. It is only a source through which power is transmitted to
customers,” he said.
*PM News
*PM News
No comments:
Post a Comment