The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was established with the noble goal of providing a reliable electricity supply to the citizens of Nigeria. However, it has sadly devolved into an organization that routinely engages in acts of incompetence and arbitrary treatment towards its consumers. One glaring example of this misconduct can be seen in the way PHCN has been disconnecting whole estates in places like Garki Area 11 without any reasonable justification.
By Suleiman Abdul-Azeez
In a recent incident, two estates comprising of about twenty apartments each on Emeka Anyaoku Street were abruptly disconnected from the electricity supply by PHCN. The reason given for this drastic action was that some individuals in the estates were allegedly connected illegally to the power grid. This justification, however, falls short of being acceptable as it is unreasonable to punish an entire estate for the actions of a few individuals, especially when most of the residents are legitimate consumers who diligently pay their electricity bills.
It is the responsibility of PHCN to identify and penalize those who are guilty of illegal connections, rather than imposing collective punishment on innocent consumers. Furthermore, most of the affected consumers in the estates use prepaid billing systems, which means that they have already paid for the electricity they consume. Disconnecting them without any valid reason is not only unjust but also a blatant disregard for the rights of the consumers.
In light of these unjust actions, the relevant authorities must take swift action to address the grievances of the affected consumers. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and regulatory agencies such as the Consumer Protection Commission must intervene to hold PHCN accountable for its actions. There should be an investigation into the reasons behind the indiscriminate disconnections and appropriate measures taken to ensure that such abuses of power do not occur in the future.
Consumers have the right to expect fair and efficient services from their utility providers, and organizations like PHCN must uphold these standards. Visiting incompetence on innocent consumers not only causes undue hardship but also erodes the trust that consumers place in public service providers. It is high time for PHCN to be held accountable for its actions and for measures to be put in place to protect consumers from such arbitrary treatment in the future.
Abdul-Azeez is a resident of one of the affected estates
