The Volta River Authority and the Electricity company of Ghana Limited, have submited new proposals asking for 120 percent increase in electricity tariffs to the Public Utility Regulatory Commission for approval.
The Electricity Company of Ghana, wants the new rates approved between July and August this year instead of September which is the time envisaged by the Public Utility Regulatory commission for the next increase in tariffs.
The Public Relations Manager of the ECG, Kwamena Longdon disclosed this in a briefing to newsman in Koforidua during a one day visit of the new Managing-Director of the company, Musah B. Adam and some senior officers to the Eastern Region.
He said the increase is not meant to put a financial burden on the customer but has become necessary because the company requires a lot of equipment to address imbalances in the system such as voltage fluctuation and to extend supplies to needy areas.
He said the company also wants to improve customer service delivery by providing more infrastructure. According to Mr. Kwamena Longdon, the company wants to establish one-stop customer service centres in all the regions and districts and in areas where electricity has just been extended.
He said eventhough the company is running at a loss, the increase is not meant to pay the debt but to help inprove services to ensure better customer satisfaction. Mr. Kwamena Longdon explained that the Government is taking measures to address power crisis and because of this, the company does not want to wait until the crisis is over before it addresses the imbalance.
The Managing-Director, Musah B. Adam, said customer satisfaction has always been the cardinal principle of the company. He advised workers to give better customer service so that the public will willingly pay rates for does not bring the rates to what must be charged because the company does not want to wait till distribution goes up so much that it causes the system to collapse.
Mr. Adam said the company is improving the meter reading system to ensure that the reading cycle conforms with the billing cycle. He said all the regional capitals have been computerised to ensure a decentralised billion system. GRi
