More than 19 million kwanzas is the amount that some consumers owe the National Electricity Distribution Company (ENDE), in Benguela province, according to the institution’s spokesman, Lauro Fortunato.
The official, who provided the information during the lecture on “Energy Education”, aimed at students of the Comandante Kassanji School – Liceu de Benguela, said that the debt resulted from non-payment of consumption for some years.
He said that, for cases of debt, the ENDE gives the possibility of negotiating, so that the customer settles the debt in a phased manner.
ENDE’s spokesman in Benguela made it known that the amount of the debt arises as a result of non-payment of energy consumption by several customers, a fact that has led to negative effects on Ende.
The embarrassment, he said, also reduces the speed in punctual assistance, given the concerns that have been presented by the communities.
He added that Benguela receives an interconnected supply of electricity, which allows it to maintain the product at any time of the day or night, for public lighting, taking into account the modern equipment that the company has been using in recent times.
He informed that, currently, more than 140 thousand direct customers benefit from the electricity system, in Benguela province. Of the number referred to, he clarified, 49 thousand are already included in the prepaid system and in view of this reality, the company continues to reinforce the technical conditions, which allow it to supply the entire region of the country, in particular the province of Benguela,.
He explained that, despite the fact that there are still those who shirk the responsibility of paying for consumption, the National Electric Energy Distribution Company in Benguela, as part of its work policy, is carrying out an energy education campaign, to make known the society as a whole about the damage caused in the energy distribution process, when you don’t pay for the product you consume.
“Likewise, we also intend to educate citizens, so that they consciously gain the culture of paying for energy, without the need to apply other measures, such as being pressured by the field work teams”, he said.
He recalled that, when a citizen pays for the energy he consumes, in addition to being a good patriot, he contributes significantly to the growth of the country’s economy and also facilitates the periodic maintenance of the system itself.
He recognized that educational institutions are essential to pass on the message, so that students are also the means of transmitting the same knowledge to their families, in the communities where they live.
He added that citizens should take into account that the regular payment of energy consumption also allows the periodic maintenance of equipment, increasing its production capacity.
The process, he clarified, facilitates in record time the expansion of the network in all locations, taking into account the new neighborhoods that have been emerging almost everywhere, with each passing year and in the case of Benguela, such as the neighborhoods “Viva Paz”, November 11th, Calossombecua 1 and 2, Seta Nova, Ilha, 17, Agostinho Neto and many others that, also in a phased way, are already being electrified.
