Ghanaians are angry about a copy of a receipt given to a customer by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). The receipt shows that GHC405 was taken out of a GHC500 credit for taxes alone, leaving only GHC94.54.
Someone took a screenshot of the receipt and posted it on social media. Since then, people have been talking about it and sharing their own sad stories.
It's not clear whether the receipt in question was a mistake or just the way things are.
After receiving approval from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURC) on 16 January, ECG increased prices by 30% for electricity and 8.3% for water on 1 February.
The PURC said the increase was caused by the falling value of the cedi, rising inflation and problems with power generation.
In a statement issued before the higher tariff came into effect, the ECG said it had prepared a "reckoner" showing how the tariff will be used and how much it will cost.
"Please note that each customer's percentage tariff increase will depend on how they are classified and how much they use. The Reckoner will be displayed in all our districts and customer service centres across the country to help customers decide how much electricity they need.
"With this announcement, ECG wants to show our customers and other stakeholders that we are committed to ensuring that the new tariff is implemented smoothly."
ECG said it wanted a smooth implementation, but it looks like that will not be the case. To avoid chaos, the company would have to do a lot of public education, or explain why customers are paying so much in tax deductions when they buy credits, or admit that there was a mistake in the system and fix it.
