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Liberia: LEC Changes Gear On Electricity Bill
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The Analyst (Monrovia)
6 March 2008
Posted to the web 6 March 2008
J. Edwood Dennis
Authority at the Liberian Electricity Corporation LEC has changed gear on the pay system of electricity supply to customers.
At a news conference at that Corporation's Waterside Central Offices yesterday, LEC Managing Director Harry T. Yuan said the increase of oil or petroleum products on the international market has forced the management of LEC to increase its tariff on supply to customers.
"Because of the increase in the price of fuel oil", the LEC boss noted "electricity supply tariff will now be shipped from 34 cents per kilowatt hours to 43 cent per kilo watt hour".
The LEC boss said his corporation has been struggling to maintain the tariff since October of 2006 but that they continue to experience loses due to the high cost of the oil on the international and continue to effect the LEC operations in Liberia.
He said the increase in tariff was necessary to the corporation since it would help the LEC maintain constant supply of the electricity to the general public.
Besides Mr. Yuan indicated that high cost of oil on the international market has impacted the operations of LEC in delivering service to it customers and could only graduate from the increase price of oil when a long term solution for LEC to break the influence of oil prices on the costs was the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee Hydro Electric plant.
To have the hydro plant rehabilitated, he pointed out that feasibility study was underway out by an American Electricity Consultation Firm (USTDA) and would be submitted to the LEC management June of this year.
Managing Director Yuan also disclosed the LEC was experiencing serious damage and loses as a result of the continue cutting of its wires and street lights by criminals.
He stated that the emergency power program #1 was successful but added criminals were undermining the process of electricity supply to Monrovia and its surroundings.
"The attitude of criminals to carry out power theft and cut down wires and destroying street lights especially on Broad and Johnson streets was hampering the work and efforts of LEC and could discourage donors from providing an assistance to Liberian's electricity program," he said.
He noted that the constant cutting and removal of the Johnson Street lighting feeder would cost the LEC management between US$550,00 to US$1,000 each time to replace the lighting.
On Broad Street where light feeders are installed underground, Mr. Yuan said these feeders and lights in the beauty garden were frequently cut and taken away by criminals who he said believed to be doing business with scraps buyers and dealers.
To combat the problem of constant power theft and the removing of wires and polls from the street at night, the LEC boss stated that his management has involved UNMIL and the Liberian National Police to enforce security operations.
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The LEC Managing Director then called on the public to help LEC secure in fighting evil minded people by calling the LEC hot (NO. 05-635429) to report criminals who are always taking away LEC property as well a destroying the street lights.
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