MOST small scale business outfits in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital are grinding to a halt owing to huge running cost occasioned by the continued blackout being experienced in the capital city.

The state capital has been thrown into darkness in the last three months due to what a source described as the inability of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to generate adequate electricity to meet the need of the fast developing state.

Although Governor Timipre Sylva had during his inauguration promised to provide one year uninterrupted power supply, Vanguard investigation revealed that the power outage problem is not limited to the capital city alone as most of the communities in the various local government areas are equally in darkness.

The worst affected are small and medium scale industries which cannot afford alternative power supply.

Also, the banking sector, which is the only industry in the predominantly riverine state where everything revolves around government has remained the worst hit as they now rely 24 hours on diesel and petrol generators to power their equipments.

This situation, a banker who spoke anonymously told Vanguard has tripled their operational cost thereby rendering their services not competitive and heavily eroding their profit margin.

As for the small and medium scale enterprises many of them have closed shops pending the improvement in electricity supply to the capital city which is often left in pitch darkness at night except for the few areas on the major highways leading into Yenagoa where government recently installed giant generating sets to power its newly installed street light.

The anxiety of the people is understandable especially when viewed against the backdrop that Bayelsa could best be described as the only state in the federation where the government pays for electricity consumed by its citizenry.

Though PHCN had repeatedly warned electricity consumers nationwide to prepare for hard times as a result of load shedding due to sharp drop in generation capacity, a fall out of shortage of gas supply to its major power stations but residence of Yenagoa and its environs were not prepared for the event of the last three months.

To further compound their woes, the State Independent Power Plant, the Imiringi Gas Turbine which was built some twenty seven years ago by the late Chief Okilo administration when Bayelsa was part of old Rivers State has since packed up due to old age and instrument failure.

In spite of the lingering blackout neither the management of the State Electricity Board nor the Power Holding Company of Nigeria has offered any reason for the current outage.

Lamenting the lingering blackout, the state chapter of the Action Congress yesterday called on the state government to not only constitute a panel to probe the activities of the state Electricity Board but also overhaul the body for proper service delivery.

The state Action Congress Secretary, Mr. Ebikibina Miriki in an interview with Vanguard in Yenagoa described the lingering blackout in the state as unacceptable and a complete disservice to the people of the state.

The unbearable situation, he noted calls for the prompt intervention of the state government "as the prolong blackout experienced in the state have not only caused untold hardship to the people but posses a security threat to lives and property in the state as well as the grounding of social and economic life of the state to a standstill."

According to the party, "the state government attempt to woo investors locally, nationally and internationally to the state will be a mirage if the persistent and epileptic power situation in the state is not given prompt attention."

Miriki noted that with the state government inauguration of an eleven member advisory council, it behooves on the latter and the state government to as a matter of urgency probe the activities and overhaul the state electricity board for proper service delivery in with Governor Timipre Sylva promise to provide uninterrupted one year power supply to the people of the state.