ECG’s GHC900m indebtedness crippling operations of GRIDCo - CEO

The inability of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other companies to settle their indebtedness to the power transmission company, Ghana Grid Company(GRIDCo) is seriously hindering the company’s operations, the Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, Mr Jonathan Amoako Baah has said.

The Electricity Company of Ghana which is said to be the biggest customer of GRIDCo is said to be owing GRIDCo to the tune of between Gh¢800million and Gh¢900million.

He said, “we need money to pay compensations, to carry out operational and maintenance work and money to service our external loads and other things.”

Speaking to Mynewsgh.com after a press briefing about the 10 years anniversary of GRIDCo, Mr Jonathan Amoako Baah revealed that his outfit has written letters threatening to disconnect some of the companies who have failed to settle their indebtedness.

He explained that the singular action taken by GRIDCo has compelled some of them to start paying their debt.

He, however, said they are unable to issue a similar threat to the ECG because it is a government institution.

He told MyNewsGh.com the approach he is using to recover the revenues owe them by ECG.



“Every week we send people to ECG to remind them of their indebtedness. Even yesterday I was talking to the Managing Director of ECG to remind him about his indebtedness. This morning I was also talking to the Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Infrastructure and Finance and I was telling him about ECG’s indebtedness and he tells me that he was going to talk to them to get us some money,” Mr. Amoako Baah revealed.

He added that when they are done, the Finance Department will come out with a recovery plan stressing that the recommendations of the plan will be implemented fully.

GRIDCo was incorporated on December 15, 2006 as a private limited liability company under the Companies Code, 1963, Act 179 and granted a certificate to commence business on December 18, 2006.

The company became operational on August 1, 2008, following the transfer of the core staff and power transmission assets from VRA to GRIDCo.

Mr Jonathan Amoako Baah said the company has been very vibrant since its inception stressing that there has been a massive injection of investments in the company’s infrastructure across the network.

He said despite the challenges “we face, we have achieved significant milestones during this short period in our life.”

“From a modest beginning, we have been able to increase the number of our substations from 43 to 75 and the circuit kilometers of our transmission lines from 4000 to 5100 as at the end of the year 2017.

“Our staff strength also increased from 480 to 947 during the said period,” he stated.

Establishment of GRIDTEL

As part of efforts to diversify its sources of income, Mr Jonathan Amoako Baah, revealed that the company is established its first subsidiary.

According to him, the new which is known as GRIDTEL will render services to telecom companies and radio and television stations.

“When you look at our transmission lines we have some two lines. We call it “sky wire” and there is one which has fiber optic and it can be used for so many things especially in the area of communication, television and data,” Mr Jonathan Amoako Baah.

“Instead of communication, television and radio stations transmitting through a wireless network, they can use our fibre optic lines and their operations can go far and faster than the wireless network,” he added.

Mr Amoako Baah explained that GRIDTEL has already been registered at the Register General Department and have been issued with a certificate of incorporation.

He was optimistic that in about two years time the new company would be firmly grounded and start raking in revenues.

Warning to squatters

Touching on the encroachment on their transmission lines, Mr Amoako Baah cautioned squatters who are settling under their pylons to vacate for their own safety.

He said is not advisable for them to operate under the pylons since they can experience damage and cause the lines to fall on them which may result in death.