ECG is efficient – ECG boss

Volta Regional Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ing. Joseph Forson has debunked claims by government officials and a section of the public that ECG is inefficient.

Mr Forson, who described such reports as erroneous, said “if ECG was inefficient, it would have collapsed many years ago. As far as I am concerned, ECG has a very productive and efficient team.”

“If you sleep and the lights go off at night and it returns at 1:00am, know that it is the work of efficient ECG staff in the bushes sacrificing their sleep.”

The company also expressed worry about the indiscriminate destruction of transmission poles by fire in the region, adding that bushfire destroyed 294 poles valued at GH¢259,951.86 between 2015 and 2016.

He further noted that despite constant education on the clearing of grass around poles, creation of fire belts, the fires continue to destroy the electrical poles in the region to deprive communities, especially in the northern part of the region, of power supply.

Ing. Forson observed that the poles are replaced at the cost of culprits and communities.

He therefore appealed to the public and community leaders to either educate the culprits or promptly report them.

As at September 2016, a total of GH¢875,000.00 has been spent by the regional office of the ECG on 26 completed projects in the region.

Some of these projects, according to the regional ECG office, include the replacement of the wooden poles with steel tubular poles in Nkwanta and other parts of the Volta region where the bushfires are prevalent.

Although ECG’s operations in the region cover 11 operational districts, only Ho and Hohoe run prepaid services covering 37,778.

The remaining nine operational districts undertake post services, covering 189,359 customers.

He complained about encroachment on the company’s Denu Customer Service Center and Bulk Supply Point and urged chiefs in the area to intervene.