The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has tasked the Ministry for Energy to as a matter of urgency, demand solutions from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on problems related to the purchase of prepaid.
This comes after several prepaid customers complained about “being slapped with outrageous bills for electricity not consumed”.
A statement issued by the IES explained that “It is the case that these customers who have pre-financed the use of electricity at a later time, are having their electricity credits being converted to debits”.
“That the more a customer buys power to be used, the more the customer owes the ECG, resulting in many homes and workplaces being disconnected,” it added.
The statement further adds that the problem should be solved urgently since the “need for power is vital for purposes of security, productivity, events and more importantly during Christmas and New year where families will stay at home”.
Read the full statement below:
THE ECG MUST QUICKLY RESOLVE THE CHALLENGES OF PREPAID CUSTOMERS
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has noted with concern the recent widespread challenges being experienced by Pre-paid customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
It is the case that these customers who have pre-financed the use of electricity at a later time, are having their electricity credits being converted to debits. That the more a customer buys power to be used, the more the customer owes the ECG, resulting in many homes and workplaces being disconnected.
In many cases, these Pre-paid customers are being slapped with outrageous bills for electricity not consumed. They are compelled to pay for these unwarranted bills before they can be credited with any new power purchases and have electricity supplied.
The failure to pay for the wrong billing and have power supplied within a certain period also delays the power restoration, even when additional purchases have been made. At this point, it takes field Technicians of the ECG to go to homes and other outlets to reset meters before power can be restored. Many a time, it takes hours and days to have customers attended to and power restored.
These challenges are cropping up at a time when the need for reliable and consistent power- supply is paramount. At this season, the need for power is vital for purposes of security, productivity, events and more importantly during Christmas and New year where families will stay at home.
The IES as a result wishes to call on the Minister of Energy as a matter of urgency to direct the ECG to fix these challenges which are greatly inconveniencing legitimate customers of the ECG.
Signed,
Fritz Moses & Elizabeth Sam
Research Analysts, IES.