Consumers cry foul over removal of meters

Agona Swedru, Aug. 28, GNA - Consumers of electricity in the Agona Swedru Municipality, have expressed concern about the removal of metering units instead of the normal disconnection exercise by staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on weekends.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on Wednesday at Agona Swedru, Mr Kofi Atakora and Mr Kojo Manu said the ECG staffs have been entering premises of clients, who owed the company to disconnect their lines as well as remove their metering units. They said quite often the removals were done when the clients were not at home.

Mr Atakora and Mr Manu said the practice was against the rules and regulations of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) outlined to protect the interest of the consumers.

Mr Atakora said: "people come back from church services, funerals, social gatherings and weddings to meet darkness in their homes, which has become a source of great worry to many consumers". He called on the Chairman of the PURC, Professor Frempong-Boateng to use his good office to curb this practice to protect consumers. Explaining the situation further, Mr Manu said some consumers, who owed between 13 and 20 Ghana cedis, had their lines cut from the electricity poles and meters removed.

He also expressed concern about the sharp rise in the cost of separate meters in the Municipality from 52 Ghana cedis to 100 Ghana cedis, which he described as astronomical. This he added had made it difficult for people, who had built new houses to apply for meters.

When GNA contacted Mr Bismark Awuku, Agona Swedru Manager of ECG, he confirmed the on-going disconnection exercise and said it was for all consumers, who owed the company more than six months. He said consumers in the Municipality owed the company several thousands of Ghana cedis.

Responding to why staffs work on weekends, Mr Awuku said the PURC law does not superseded the exercise of the company. Mr Awuku said lists of the consumers, who owe, were being compiled by the company and they would soon be arraigned before Agona Swedru Circuit Court.