Prudent management puts ECG on the path of recovery

The management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has stated that it is working to improve on revenue collection and reduce the level of system loss to operate the company on a profitable basis.

System loss in the power-buying company, as at the end of last year, was pegged at 23%, falling short of the Public Utilities Regulation Commission (PURC), regulators of utility companies’ directive to the ECG to work to reduce system loss to an appreciable 21%.

Though it failed to meet the PURC’s directive, the management of the ECG believes that the reduction of the loss, which was then hovering around 27% in 2011 to the current percentage level, was an indication that the company was working hard to ensure that the cost of loss was reduced.

The Managing Director of the ECG, Mr. William Hutton Mensah, who disclosed this to the media at a press conference, further said that the company had contracted another company to work on it system loss production, and had begun on a pilot basis in the Greater Accra Region.

He mentioned that as part of efforts to run the company on a profitable basis and reduce loss as well, it had as well introduced an Automated Meter Review (AMR), where high consuming customers have their metering system read automatically.

He pointed out that a number of metering anomalies with clients who fall under this category (the high consuming power), which, hitherto, could not have been recovered, have, this time round, been recovered, as a result of the introduction of the AMR.

He said the company was ready to extend the AMR service to hotels and other high consuming customers in the business community.

Mr. Hutton Mensah further mentioned that the company was also introducing Network Automation (NA), with the aim to improve working efficiency.

He said with the introduction of the NA, a staff of the company could sit at the office and work on a particular problem identified, instead of going to the site.

Turning his attention to the Western Region, the ECG MD mentioned that the company had, from last year to date, sunk an amount of Ghc120 million into various projects in the region.

He mentioned the rehabilitation, expansion and upgrading of primary sub-stations in Ketan, Takoradi, Apremdo Barracks and Apowa, as part of projects, which covered the aforementioned sum.

That apart, the company was also establishing a Bulk Supply Point at Juaboso to improve power distribution to serve customers in the northern part of the region.