Meters not for sale – ECG reminds Ghanaians
Dr Nicholas Smart-Yeboah, Director of Customer Services of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has reminded the public that meters for measuring power usage are strictly not for sale.
He said both the client making offers for the meters and ECG staff yielding to or demanding bribes for the meters do so in contravention of the law.
Mr Smart-Yeboah was reacting to queries at a public hearing on quality of service of utility providers, organized by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in Ho on Monday.
He said notice of service charges were being pasted at district offices of the ECG across the country.
Mr Smart-Yeboah said the ECG was only a distributor of power supplied to it by power producers, and was doing its best during the recent power shortfall in the face of rising demands.
He said the ECG had been upgrading machinery at its distribution points in the Volta Region to ensure more reliable services.
Mr Smart-Yeboah said that electricity supply to the northern part of the Volta Region had not been the best but hinted that technical problems associated with that situation were being tackled.
Mr John Ghobbah, an Information and Publicity Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA), said various new power supply sources would add more megawatts of power to the national grid to obviate the current around 200 megawatts shortfall.
Mr Albert Quainoo, Public Relations Manager, Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO), bulk power transporters, said all its supply sub-stations in the region, including Ho, Asiekpe and Aflao were being upgraded.
Mr Thomas Mensah Abobi, Head of Budget and Consolidation at the Ghana Water Company said investments in the supply of utilities were grossly inadequate.
Mr Emmanuel Appiah, Volta Regional Director of the Ghana Water Company, said ducts were now being left underneath road works through which the utility companies could pass their lines to avoid cutting through roads.
Dr Emmanuel Annan, PURC Chairman, expressed joy at the patronage of the forum, which he said showed the keen interest of the populace in issues of quality of service delivered by the utilities.
Questions and remarks of contributors included apathy of staff of Ghana Water Company in repairing leakages when informed, unclear service charges of the ECG and complicity of staff of utility companies in the much talked about illegal connections.
Representatives of professional associations, trade groups, the clergy, local government workers, district assembly members and women’s groups attended the forum.
Source: GNA