Tema, July 28, GNA – The Tema South District Office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has held a community engagement and interaction with residents of Bankuman to address some safety-related issues.
The two-hour interaction provided residents with the platform to seek answers to lingering questions on charges, credit recharge, the ECG mobile app, and metre acquisition, among others.
Ms Ruhiya Fuseini, Marketing Officer, ECG, Tema Regional Office, answering questions on service challenges, which residents complained to be on the high side, said a residential entity was required to pay GHC7.46 as service charge once a month.
Ms Fuseini said the service charge, which includes street lights, would be deducted at the first purchase for the month, therefore, if a customer did not buy credit the previous month that together with the present month would be deducted when power was bought by the customer.
She gave the assurance that there were no changes in its tariffs as the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) was yet to announce any new increment.
She debunked claims that the tariffs were increased secretly to cater for the free power Ghanaians enjoyed in 2020 to cushion them against the impact of the COVID-19.
She advised customers to always demand a receipt for their purchase even though the amount bought would automatically be credited to their meters.
Mr Christopher Apawu, ECG Tema South District Engineer, said the engagement was necessitated by some safety issues recorded in the area, saying even though clients make use of electrical power some of them do not know the consequences of tampering with their equipment.
Mr Apawu cautioned residents against transmitting electricity from their premises to others as that constituted an illegal connection, adding that it was also unacceptable for residents to remove meters from one location to the other.
He explained that monies paid by customers for the acquisition of meters to their properties were for administrative cost as the meters were solely the property of the ECG and, therefore, it was illegal to remove them from one location to the other.
He said when relocating after buying a meter as a tenant, one must contact the ECG for the necessary arrangement as the meters’ location had been entered into the system, therefore, moving it to other places would make it nonfunctional.
He also urged persons, who want to fix streetlights in their localities to contact their assembly members, who would, in turn, contact the ECG offices for technicians to be assigned to do the connection.
Mr Apawu appealed to residents to report activities of unscrupulous people, who presented themselves as staff and contractors of ECG to sell cables and meters to them.
The ECG team include Ms Sakyiwaa Mensah, Public Relations Officer, Tema Region and Mr Bismark Agble, Clou Prepaid Meters Supervisor.
GNA