CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Preliminaries

In a world like ours today there is every need to manage funds in every activity being carried out. It is the concern of every firm to control its finances to ensure that unnecessary expenses are avoided. Financial management in a company has proved to be a great task involving the monitor of almost all departments of the company. As such, companies tend to be severe about the tools being used to manage these resources of theirs. This is because financial resources have to do with figures, calculations and computations which may present errors if not properly handled. To this end a computerized system will go a long way to sort many issues in managing financial affairs.

Monitoring power and issuing its bill is the job of Power Holding companies, and they intend to present this information to their customers/subscribers on time and precise. In Nigeria the situation is not different. The Power Holdings Company Nigeria (PHCN) PLC has been on the job for decades now. The issue now is how is it being done and whether the method being used yields the best results? With the growing rate of technology in our world today the question is not far fetched.

The use of manual means of manipulation of records has been proved to have different flaws attached to it so companies are gradually turning on to information technology for aid. Offices are no longer known for the piles of paper and files that it usually had. Rather it is made of devices that make up an automated office system, devices like, desktops, laptops, printers, scanners, etc.

A computerized system according to Friaser, C. (2007), involves the use of computer devices and connections to achieve tasks in a corporate environment. Using this type of system to manage activities will help solve problems of familiar problems being presented by manual systems.

This research project is focused on showing how a computerized system can be modeled to monitor power outage and present bills for it. It studies the characteristics of a computerized system and its components.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Over the years electricity monitoring in PHCN(usually known as NEPA) has been operated using manual systems and this constitute irrespective of its innate and intrinsic shortfall. When customers go to the billing sections to pay up their accrued bills, they get entrapped in long interminable queues to inefficient machines. In light of this, payment of bills turns out to be hard nut to crack for customers. On the other side of PHCN officials, it has been a tedious and cumbersome task to be abreast of the condition of electricity cables, transformers etc, and these inabilities contributes to their poor and torpid attention to critical power problems. As a matter of necessity, only an online, real-time monitoring transaction processing system can revert these plagues associated with manual procedures of power monitoring system.

The question of turning to the computerized system rather than partially automated system which serves which serves as an impediments and discomfort due to poor operating environment becomes another problem to be resolved.

1.3 THEORITICAL BACKGROUND

The National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), which is now known as Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), was established by decree 24 of 1972 via the then electricity corporation of Nigeria and the Niger Dan Authority (NDA). It was accorded the mandate to generate, transmit, distribute, and market electricity.

It has on its own the task to develop and to maintain an efficient coordinated and economical system of electricity supply to all parts of Nigeria and other parts of West Africa like Benin republic, Ghana and Niger republics in the northern part of Nigeria. In the bid to meet with its statutory responsibility geared towards the satisfaction of its customers need worldwide constitute the establishment of the Alausa-Ikeja road office, which has been functional over decades.

Past, the system was not well efficient because the manipulations of the system were handled solely using humans’ operations which constituted different errors. In our time, it has become necessary to implement modern approaches to technology in order to manage activities of an organization.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to show how a computerized system can be built for the PHCN Uyo, to aid the handle of electricity monitoring and bill presentation for customers. The study examines the distinction between a manual and computerized system, and intends to settle the problems created by manual systems by modeled automated systems.

To employ Information Technology (IT) potentials in customers service and the organization as a whole, as well as to ascertain whether computerized system is of positive impact to the general service structure or a threat to the staff’s job security.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Owing to the apparent and deliberate cynic approach of people towards the issue of whether or power monitoring system is expedient, the research project has the under-listed significance:

1. Eliminates the problems inherent in the old power monitoring system/procedure by offering an automated real-time data processing approach.
2. Reduce complaints by aggrieved customers owing to poor service thereby upholding the corporate image of PHCN.

• Educate PHCN officials of the use of computing operations to carry out transactions.

1. To ginger further study and research on the topic by other students and academicians.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study is focused on power monitoring in PHCN. It considers the procedures used for managing the billing system in PHCN and how a computerized system can contribute to the betterment of these activities. The study uses Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Uyo as its case study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The following factors intended to hinder the progress of this research;

• Lack of funds to carry out the research and create the system required
• Limited time given for the completion of the project coupled with normal academic activities
• Unavailability of materials in the school library that is related to the topic of research
• Virus attack on the computer system used in the typing the work
• Low response of PHCN officials during interviews.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Electric Power: Electric power is the rate of energy consumption in a circuit. The electric power is measured in units of watts.

Capacitor: This is a passive two-terminal component used to store energy in an electric field.

Computerized System: A computerized system is collection of different computer components that work together to collect, sort, store, and manage information.

Monitoring: This generally means to be aware of the state of the system in order to control the system effectively.

PHCN: Power Holding Company of Nigeria. This is the institution with the responsibility of distributing electric power to the Nigerian public in return for their bills being paid.

Bills: This is an amount of money owed for goods supplied or services rendered, set out in a printed or written statement of charge.

Information: This can be referred to as processed data ready for the purpose of decision-making.