Monrovia –A fine of up to US$350.00 awaits consumers found stealing electricity or tampering with electricity meters, the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has said.
LEC Deputy Managing Director of Customers Services Famata Sirleaf said the penalty is imposed to serve as deterrent for power theft.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with community leaders of the SKD 72nd Community, Mrs. Sirleaf said power theft is a growing phenomenon affecting the revenue generation capacity of the LEC.
She encouraged the community leaders to join the LEC to ensure that electricity theft is curtailed.
“We are working to improve governance of the electricity sector, but the activities of unscrupulous individuals are of grave concern. By-passing of our meters, third party connections and meter tempering are on an alarming increase.”
“These activities undermine the generation of revenues and consequently hamper our ability to expand our services,” she said.
Famata Sirleaf highlighted the dangers power theft pose to individuals involved in it and the end users. She said scores of young Liberians have lost their lives while engaging in power theft.
Mrs. Sirleaf Corporation underscored the need for community dwellers to partner with the LEC in helping to improve the system, assuring them that the LEC through its commercial department was doing everything to further improve on its services.
“I can assure you that things have started to change. We are doing everything possible to respond to our valued customers in time. Our customers are our greatest assets, and I can assure you that we will do all we can to improve the quality of service we provide,” Sirleaf Said.
The LEC head of energy monitoring, Owen Richards also re-echoed the dangers of power theft and restated the Corporation’s resolve to clamp down on the phenomenon.
The SKD 72nd Community is one of 18 communities that recently benefited from electricity expansion under the World Bank funded project.
The chairman of the community thanked the LEC team for the interaction and promised that the community was willing to partner with the LEC.
The Liberia Electricity Corporation recently launched a community engagement campaign to improve its relationship with customers and the public and to raise awareness about the dangers of electricity theft and the need to combat the phenomenon, which is costing the Corporation huge loss of revenue.
The campaign, which was launched in July in Clara Town, has already been extended to other communities including Fiamah, Matadi, Gbangay Town, Lakpazee, Key Hole, Chugbor and Pagos Island.