PHILIPSBURG: --- Acting Minister of VROMI and former Operations Director of NV GEBE Veronica Jansen Webster told reporters on Wednesday that NV GEBE is still struggling to get back on its feet since the cyber attack in 2022. Jansen Webster said that despite the company doing its best to recover its data manually, 600 consumers have not been billed since March 2022. She cautioned that even though some of these people may have paid their bills, they will receive their bills from GEBE, and those persons must contact NV GEBE to straighten out their accounts. She alluded that the missing data is what led to the current load-shedding that consumers are experiencing daily. “People will receive up to 25 bills in one shot. GEBE must bill their consumers, so I am warning people not to panic but instead make time to visit NV GEBE Customer Service to regulate those bills.” NV GEBE was asked by the shareholders to provide aftercare for their consumers.
The Acting Minister also indicated that after meeting with NV GEBE's management a week ago, she realized that the public had been kept in the dark about the company's actual status. Despite the hard work done by the employees who work daily on recovering the data, there is much more work to be done.
LOADSHEDDING.
The Acting Minister said the current load shedding is due to one of NV GEBE's main engines being down. She explained that the engine is having major mechanical issues that are not being accessed. The minister said by next week, the Council of Ministers will receive a report indicating whether or not NV GEBE will have to replace the engine or order a new engine, which will take another 18 months before it can be manufactured. “There is a crankshaft issue with one of the main engines. NV GEBE will have to seek financing to secure at least two main engines, each costing $14 million.
The Minister said that this was due to the lack of responsibility of the former Minister of VROMI, who issued a number of building permits for large projects without informing NV GEBE of their output capacity.
Consumers are asked to be mindful of their energy use, even though excessive heat is affecting the elderly and children.
