Accra West ECG recovers more than GH¢2 million from illegalities in a month

The Accra West region of the Electricity Company of Ghana Ltd. (ECG) has recovered a total of one million, two hundred and seventy-seven thousand Kilowatts hour (kWh) of electric energy from 1,390 customers engaged in various forms of illegalities.

The billed energy amounts to Two million, Three Hundred and Fifteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Three Ghana cedis (GH¢2,315,423.00).

The customers were identified during the Company’s recently launched operation “Fix the Bill and Pay the Bill”.

The exercise, which started from Monday November 6, 2023, and expected to end on 11th December, is taking place simultaneously across all of ECG’s operational areas.

The initiative seeks to capture the consumption readings for all postpaid customers.

It is to generate accurate bills, engender customer confidence in the billing process and encourage timely payment of bills.

The Accra West region has 59, 416 postpaid customers out of a total customer population of 636,437 customers.

Highlighting the positive outcome of the exercise so far, the General Manager for ECG Accra West region, Mr Emmanuel Akinie, said the Company was also using the opportunity to audit the integrity of all installed meters, and retrieve debts owed it.

“Our field staff are actively auditing the integrity of every meter they encounter in the field. We have so far uncovered instances where certain customers have been involved in illegal activities, stealing power and thereby depriving the Company of revenue from the services we are providing,” he said.

He added that the teams discovered other customers, who were not paying for the power they used because their meters were faulty.

The identified customers were directed to the nearest ECG office where processes to retrieve the lost revenue and regularise their relationship with the Company were initiated, he ssid.

Mr Akinie bemoaned recent reports of meter thefts in some communities and said the Company was liaising with security agencies to stem the tide.

“We have reports of some syndicates who are stealing installed meters from customer premises. Together with the police and other agencies, we are on the hunt for such persons and we will do all within our power to bring them to book,” he said.

The Accra west region has eight district offices. These are Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korlebu and Nsawam districts.