We won’t ‘steal’ your credits again – ECG

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it is taking measures to ensure that wrongful deductions are permanently curtailed.

In December 2015, PURC announced an increase in utility tariffs, with a 59.2 percent increase for electricity and 67.2 percent for water.

Some Ghanaians have since been complaining that they have been paying unreasonably more for especially, electricity tariffs, than they are supposed to.

But the Public Relations Officer of ECG, William Boateng who was responding to concerns about the development onEyewitness News said the Company is working around the clock to ensure the problem is not repeated.

“We appreciate what is happening and we will continue to work to ensure the problems do not occur again. We have advised our regulators to be considerate and help us have challenges,” William Boateng said.

Mr. Boateng appealed to Ghanaians to exercise patience with the ECG while it takes measures to rectify these challenges.

Contrary to the announced 59.2% electricity tariff increase by the PURC, consumers have been paying more for power than officially announced since January 1, 2016.

So assuming the power is GHc1 per unit, an increase of 59.2% takes it to GHc1.592.
5% of 1.592 = 0.0796 for street lighting.

An extra 5% of 1.592 = 0.0796 for national electrification charge.

The charges will sum up to 1.7512.

So cumulatively, the increments come up to around 75.12%.

Meanwhile about 333,902 prepaid metre users have been compensated by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for wrongful deductions. This was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor. He further indicated that the company credited back its customers an amount totalling GH3 million.

Vanishing saga

Scores of residents in Teshie in Accra early this month [January], thronged the offices of ECG in the area to express their anger, over some wrongful deductions.

They argued that the credits they buy literally “vanish” after just a few days.