Again, PHED staff electrocuted in Calabar

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company – PHED in charge of electricity supply in Calabar, the Cross River State capital has encountered yet another electrocution of its staff, the second, in the last two months.

The incident which occurred in the early hours of Thursday 27th October involved a PHED worker in a high tension around the vicinity of Margaret Ekpo International Airport, opposite the Airport Police Station, near the 305 special mobility Group of the Nigerian Airforce checkpoint.

A PHED patrol vehicle was sighted Thursday under high tension and officials trying to bring down the lifeless body of the deceased staff.

Recall that the first incident occurred in the late hours of Wednesday, September 28, 2022, at the army junction, a few meters from Eburutu Military Cantonment where an official of the company was electrocuted to death on a high-tension pole.

An electricity consumer who spoke on condition of anonymity decried the incessant blackouts in Calabar exacerbated by the indiscriminate disconnection by the staff of PHED without recourse most of the time, to due process.

An investigation by LENS Reporter revealed that most areas in the metropolis have been without light for months due to faulty transformers which PHED blame on the activities of vandals. But on top of this, electricity bills are still distributed to consumers on an estimated billing system. And whenever electricity is restored, disconnection follows, save consumers that have settled their outstanding bills.

Efforts by LENS Reporter to get the reaction of PHED at their Calabar road office on the electrocution proved abortive at the time of filing this report.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)