By Benjamin Akoto
Sunyani, July 21, GNA – The Sunyani Area of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) recouped GHS22,014,490.59 million during its fifth revenue mobilization and loss control exercise.
The four-week exercise, which commenced on Monday, June 24th, targeted retrieving about GHS25 million of outstanding payments from customers.
Addressing the media in Sunyani, Mr Eugene Odoi Addo, the Area Manager, emphasised the success of the exercise and the valuable lessons learnt from previous exercises that had contributed to the improvement of the current operation.
He pointed out the exercise had facilitated NEDCo in signing payment agreements with some customers, expressing the organisation’s dedication to monitoring and executing the agreements to ensure prompt payment from customers.
Mr Addo explained, under the loss control, those apprehended would be charged accordingly and if necessary, prosecuted, saying there were several cases, but indicated were progressing as legal proceedings are a meticulous process.
He observed that the outstanding balance owed by customers remained substantial, saying in the short term, NEDCo was striving to introduce more prepaid meters to boost prepaid sales, aiming to encourage upfront power purchases over postpaid meter payment.
He expressed the desire for constant mass mobilisation exercises to be organised to reconnect with consumers and raise awareness to retrieve some of the outstanding balance owed.
Despite the success of the exercise, Mr Addo acknowledged challenges faced by staff, including incidents where customers obstructed NEDCo officials from carrying out their duties, but with police intervention, the situations were effectively managed.
He assured that security provision would be enhanced to address such challenges going into future exercises.
Mr Addo urged customers to utilize NEDCo’s online payment systems for both prepaid and postpaid services, explaining that customers have the privilege to access both a short code and a mobile application for payment convenience.
GNA