PHCN, Financial Institutions Introduce Online Electricity
 Payment System
By Taiwo Hassan
 9th OCT 2006

AS part of efforts aimed at easing payment of electricity bills in the country, the management of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) plc in partnership with some financial institution recently launched an online mode of payment known as the PHCN easy payment solution.

Speaking at the launch, the national co-ordinator liaison unit of PHCN, Alhaji Shuaibu Maigida noted that the initiative was informed by the on-going reforms of the Federal Government in the power sector.
"Since the on-going power sector reform by the government is near completion, we saw a need for PHCN to look outward in finding solution to the means of payment which will further increase cash collection and revenue generations for the company," he said.

Besides, he explained that the new scheme took PHCN, consortium of banks, GPS Limited and Interswitch Limited over one and the half years to bring to fruition.
Maigida said that electricity consumers in the country had been having it rough in most of the PHCN cash centres when paying for their electricity bills, noting that some of the discomfort included distance of payment centres to place of work /residence, long queues in cash offices, non crediting of payments, disconnection as a result of delays in reflecting of payments. Others are delays in remittance of collections by banks to PHCN accounts, which results in unnecessary overdrafts, wrong capturing at payments at the billing centres.

To him, all these problems made the management of the company to partner with these leading banks and the solution provider firms in alleviating the discomfort of the PHCN customers.

According to him, the significance of the launch of the Electronic Payment System (EPS) was to ensure that customers of electricity were aware that almost all the Nigeria banks were part of the EPS scheme and they should take the advantage and opportunities opened to them, because it was a stress free way of paying for electricity consumption, adding that a customer could pay in any branch of he 21 banks that were part of the scheme.

"We started the implementation of the EPS with active participation and collaboration of Afribank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith International Bank Plc.

"In 2005, we commenced pilot runs in some district in Abuja and Lagos. The success of the pilot scheme encouraged PHCN management to roll out the solution throughout the country. This motivated many banks to connect to the Interswitch. The result is about 22 of the 25 consolidated banks are in the process of joining the scheme," Maigida stated.

On the public awareness of the scheme, the co-ordinator said: "I wish to inform this distinguished gathering that massive publicity blitz has been packaged to inform, sensitise and move payment for electricity consumption from the present system to the new platform via radio singles and newspapers adverts which has started on September 25, 2006 across the states of the federation already using the payment solution.
He continued: "Among the states already using the EPS are Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Nassarawa, Niger and Rives including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

"Hopefully, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states will be completed before the end of November this year."
While speaking further on how the conceptualisation of the scheme came to fruition, Project Manager, Mr. Chadril Ogbebor said that PHCN had huge debt profile which was incurred by electricity consumer due to their apathy in paying electricity bills when considering the cumbersome/difficulty payment process. This according to him had resulted to huge revenue losses to the company.

Ogbebor added that about 95 per cent of electricity consumers were paying bills through the credit/post payment system, which was a means that involved payment after electricity had been consumed. Usually, he said, meter reading, bill preparation and distribution to customers initiated this process.
According to him, it became apparent that something had to be done and urgently too to assure management that funds collected were duly accounted for through online real-time monitoring of payment and remittance of collections to the designated leads banks.

He added that the bottom line was to ensure that consumer payment was promptly credited to them and avoid possible embarrassment through unfair disconnection. The added advantage was that consumers could pay at any location of their choice and reduce long hours wasting at long queues at cash offices and the few vending stations available.

While enumerating the importance of the EPS, the project manager said that the ability to monitor payments immediately they were made, online real-time consolidated information of all collections, ensured all payments were received on time as agreed with lead banks, full and timely remittance of funds from collecting banks to lead banks and ability to download payment electronically in a specific format to expedite PHCN internal billing system.

Others are timely crediting of PHCN remittance accounts, ability to view and print collections by various parameters by business unit banks branches, companies and payment type etc and PHCN customers can pay for electricity through any participating bank branch for any business unit nationwide.

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