Introduction pre-payment meters is a policy decision-MD

Sekondi June 14 -GNA-Mr. Jude Osafo Adu-Amankwa, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has said the introduction of pre-payment meters is a policy decision that would not be compromised. He said the company is using the meters as a management tool to ully recover sale and outstanding debts of customers. MR. Adu-Amankwa was speaking at a media encounter organised by the company at Sekondi.

He said the ECG owes the Volta River Authority (VRA) several millions of Ghana Cedis and the government has written off its indebtedness to the Authority on many occasions. Mr Adu-Amankwa said the pre-payment meter was introduced as a measure to forestall the perennial cash flow problems of the company. He said the VRA monthly imports costing millions of dollars crude oil costing millions of dollars for use at the Aboadze Thermal Plant but the Authority is able to pay part of the amount leaving a shortfall.

Mr. Adu-Amankwa said all residential and business accommodations in the cities would be provided with pre-payment meters. He said credit meters would continue to be used in the hinterlands. Mr Adu-Amankwa said electricity supply would be cut off to premises whose owners do not allow pre-payment meters to be installed. He said the company would charge nothing for the meters and the installation. Mr Adu-Amankwa said the load-shedding has resulted in equipment failure and the company is making efforts to procure new ones to replace them. Dr. Nicholas Smart-Yeboah, Director of Customer Service of ECG, said about 230,000 out of the estimated 1.5 million customers are using pre-payment meters.

Dr Smart-Yeboah said the Western Region is the last region to implement the policy on meters which began on pilot basis in Accra in 1993. He said the company is speeding up the process to establish vendor stations where units could be purchased for the meters. Dr Smart-Yeboah said the company would carry out a survey to determine customers' satisfaction level at least twice a year to enable it find solutions to complaints. He said the company is a service provider and has an obligation to provide quality service and educate customers on how to use electricity to generate wealth. Mr. Ben Nyatefe, Western Regional Director of ECG, said the installation of pre-payment meters started in Takoradi in April this year and so far, about 4,000 meters have been installed. He said about 42,000 meters are expected to be installed before the end of the year. Mr Nyatefe said the programme has not started at Sekondi where about 21,000 pre-payment meters are to be installed before the end of the year. He said 16,000 pre-payment meters would be installed at Tarkwa and other areas would steadily benefit from the programme. 14 June 08