By Ovat Abeng
FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company Limited in charge of Anambra State, has decried high cases of electricity theft across the state.
The Managing Director of the Company, Mr Okechukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a two-day interactive engagement meeting with Onitsha electricity consumers organized by the Anambra State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ASERC), held at the All Sant Cathedral Hall Onitsha, on Tuesday.
He said the Company has put up plans through partnership with security agencies, traditional rulers, community’s President generals, Civil Society Organizations and the Media to combat the menace across its network.
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He reiterate the company’s zero-tolerance policy on energy theft, warning of severe consequences for offenders.
He disclosed that over 85 percent cases of electricity theft, including meter bypass/tampering, transformer vandalization, cable vandalization and consumer’s failure to pay for the usage has so far recorded, resulting in financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of naira.
Okafor emphasised the critical role of the ASERC collaboration in strengthening FirstPower’s capacity to detect and prosecute violators, underscoring the negative impact of energy theft on service delivery and operational integrity.
According to him, the company has also mapped out plan to phase-out estimated billing by closing metering gab with the aimed of distributing pre-paid metres to customers across the state
“The menace is behind the power supply in the state.
“Electricity theft is one of the major challenge that has affected our ability to provide reliable service to our esteem customers.
“We are intensifying our efforts through partnerships like this to ensure that those who engage in such practices face the full force of the law.
“We can’t fight this challenge alone, we want all the concerned stakeholders/authorities to assist us to enable the company served better.
“Our partnership with the above mentioned bodies is crucial. It will not only enhances our capacity to detect and prosecute offenders but also sends a strong message that electricity theft will not be tolerated under the administration of governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo in Anambra State.
“This singular act has undermined the integrity of our operations and deprives us of resources needed to improve service delivery to Anambra residents.
The FirstPower boss urged customers to refrain from engaging in electricity theft, emphasising that the distribution company is determined to take strict action against defaulters, including imprisonment, as stipulated in the Electricity Act of Nigeria.
In his remark, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ASERC, Prof Frank Nwoye Okafor, called for a better working relationship between the electricity distribution companies and the consumers, adding that the vision of the commission under his leadership is to ensure that any electricity company operating in the state maintain the Anambra State Electricity Law, 2025 standard.
Okafor appeal to the consumers to be patient with the poor energy supply, noting that the power currently being generated from the National grid is low to serve the state as a whole.
Some of the consumers who spoke, including Comrade Olly Ifeanyi appealed to FirstPower to begins disengagement of community billing in the state.
