Alert! ECG cuts power to seismic station for nonpayment

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cut power supply to the only seismic equipment in Ghana due to nonpayment of bills.

This means the country is not in a better position to detect or predict the occurrence of earthquake or earth tremor as well as their magnitude because the seismic station is down.

The Geological Survey Department (GSD) is said to be owing the power distribution company a whopping sum due to inadequate funds.

According to the Director of the GSD, Dr John Agyei Duodu, government has released Ghc180,000 out of the approved Ghc300,000 as of December 23. The seismic station alone has a budget of Ghc93,000.

Duodu said ECG advised them to put the equipment on prepaid meter, a suggestion that was rejected.

“The equipment should not be on prepaid since the benefits are national,” Dr Duodu revealed to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills, who paid a working visit to the Department.

He said the ECG officials later came to disconnect power to the machine “and said unless we pay the old bill, they are not going to reconnect.”

The Lands and Natural Resources Minister said he would inform cabinet about the situation.

“The seismic [shutdown] is a national issue and we need to know what is happening and if there are earthquakes and anything happening on the ground, we need to prepare and we need to know. This equipment is just to be our eye.”