The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has launched its 50th anniversary to celebrate five decades of providing electricity to Ghanaians.
The launch, which was held at the head office of the company in Accra was attended by dignitaries in the energy sector.
Delivering a speech, the Managing Director of the ECG, Ingineer Samuel Boakye-Appiah recounted that, ECG has chalked many successes in the past 50 years.
“We have achieved significant laurels locally and internationally. We have brought smiles to many homes and communities who turn the lights on for the first time in their lifetime. Our products have transformed the lives of various communities,” he remarked.
He added that, ECG has kept industry running and contributed immensely to the socio-economic development needs of the country.
“ECG is the best distribution utility in West Africa and rated second in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa after Eskom of South Africa, “he touted.
Providing some more achievements, Ing. Boakye-Appiah pointed out that the state power distributor has helped other West African countries through training.
“In recognition of the valuable human resource, we have created over the past 50 years engineers from Afghanistan were trained by ECG on the recommendation of the World Bank in the last quarter of 2017. During the same period, the Rwandan Electricity Board visited ECG to learn about the best utility practices,” he said.
Touching on some challenges, Ing. Boakye-Appiah stated that, ECG has experienced some difficult moments in its operations.
“The worst challenge in recent memory was the protracted power crisis of 2012 to 2016. During the crisis, ECG’s image fell to an all-time low and our distribution network was weakened as a result of frequent switching for load shedding”.
He disclosed that the challenge affected the revenue generation pattern of the ECG leading to the company’s fortune dwindling.
He added that ECG has also faced serious challenges in technical capacity over the years.
“We had to discharge our mandate using obsolete equipment, outdated technology and manual business process. We are yet to achieve the Regulatory Benchmarks for System Losses and Network Reliability,” he stressed.
–
By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana