Right Groups Urge FG to Revoke EEDC Licence for Poor Performance

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

A coalition of human rights groups in the Southeast, under the aegis of South East Based Coalition of Human Rights and Good Governance Organisations (SBCHROs) has called for the outright revocation of the licence of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company(EEDC).
The coalition which consists of 13 rights groups in a follow-up letter to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, cited poor performance as its reason for the call.

The letter to the minister read: “We are strongly calling on the federal government and the Ministry of Power
to revoke the operating licence granted to the EEDC for failing woefully to improve and revolutionise power distribution in the Southeast.”

The coalition said the call became necessary following “mindboggling atrocious conducts of the company, especially its field personnel, fully condoned by the company in its 18 business districts of the Southeast zone.”

It said the conducts of the company’s staff haves shackled and manacled the people of Southeast and forced them into chronic bondage as well as industrial and developmental backwardness.

The coalition said the call became pertinent, following rampant cases of illegal disconnections, crazy billing systems and operating with thugs among others around Ogbaru business district and the entire Southeast region.

According to the coalition, “We are also strongly calling for the immediate investigation and dismissal of present Ogbaru, Onitsha and Ogidi Network Managers of the EEDC and their subordinate senior managers for marketing, billing, operations, network expansion or distribution.

“Owing to reckless issuance of outrageous estimated bills by EEDC especially to single phase residential consumers; billions, if not tens of billions worth of ‘accumulated bills’ abound in the Southeast. In many, if not most single phase houses and their residents, EEDC’s monthly estimated bills have become much higher than monthly house rents.

“The rest of EEDC monumental failures requiring thorough investigation and appropriate sanctions are: failure to effect adequate provision and installation of distribution transformers, specifically for consumers who are in need and generally for the purpose of ensuring distribution expansion and efficiency.

“Others are non-provision of power distribution network accessories including transformer accessories and feeder lines’ spares, failure to ensure round-the-clock maintenance of distribution transformers and distribution feeder lines and failure to disallow consumers bear the brunt or cost of procuring, installing and maintaining distribution transformers.”