BYERA APPROVES SERVICE UPGRADE FOR IMIRINGI, GOVERNMENT HOUSE FEEDERS
Says No Band A Tariff Yet Until Service Improves and is Verified.
By Chris Mark
The Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency, BYERA, has approved a structured Service Improvement Programme for customers on the Imiringi and Government House feeders in Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED’s network.
The approval, issued on July 13, 2026 with reference `BYERA/REG/PHED/SB/07/2026`, authorizes PHED to carry out network rehabilitation, feeder reinforcement, metering rollout, loss reduction and other operational upgrades aimed at improving power supply quality and reliability on the two feeders.
BYERA however clarified that the approval does not permit immediate migration of customers on the affected feeders to Band A, nor does it authorize PHED to commence Band A tariff billing.
In the public notice signed by Director General, Dr. RosaLyn Dressman, BYERA stated that existing service-band classifications and tariffs will remain until four conditions are met.
The conditions for any future Band A migration include: PHED demonstrating sustained and verifiable compliance with Band A service standards, BYERA independently verifying daily supply hours, outage records, network capacity, metering status and feeder reliability, PHED establishing adequate customer notification, complaint handling and regulatory reporting systems, BYERA issuing a separate written approval authorizing tariff migration.
BYERA said PHED must submit an implementation schedule, metering plan, customer engagement plan and periodic performance reports. While the Agency will also conduct technical inspections and engage consumers directly.
Customers on the Imiringi and Government House feeders were advised to: Continue paying only the tariff applicable to their current service band, Keep copies of bills, receipts and meter information, Record daily supply hours where possible, Report any unapproved tariff change, excessive billing, or prolonged outage to BYERA via `consumer@byera.energy`
Dr. Dressman reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to protecting consumers from premature tariff increases, adding that any future Band A classification must be based on “transparent, measurable and independently verified service performance.”
The programme is expected to reduce estimated billing, strengthen energy accountability and provide a measurable basis for future service classification of the feeders.
