By Ewoenam Kpodo
Denu (VR), Aug 8, GNA – Scores of electricity consumers in Ketu South have taken to the streets to express their outrage and frustration over “unacceptable billing practices of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).”
The demonstrators identified these practices to include overbilling, inaccurate estimations, and unlawful disconnections and called on the power distributor to “fix the killer bills” saying, “The anomalies in the billing system are hurting us to death.”
Wednesday’s demonstration, heavily policed from Victoria Park, Aflao to Denu near the ECG office saw the demonstrators clad in red, carrying placards with inscriptions including “Withdraw Your Billing Software”, “A Bill of GH¢729,637.60 for a Provision Store”, “Daylight Robbery” and “Denu ECG, Why Are You Maltreating Us?”
It also saw the demonstrators come along with the “outrageous bills” which were handed over to the Denu ECG Management together with the petition with the call on the company to resolve their issues on a ticket of urgency.
Madam Rejoice Adorsu, a middle-aged woman with difficulty in walking told Ghana News Agency (GNA) that she defied all odds to join the demonstration because she needed to come out and voice out her frustration as “I keep receiving outrageous bills and I don’t know how I’ll manage to pay them.”
Mr Edem Viglo, who read the petition, said the essence of fixing energy meters in their premises was to measure their daily consumption of electricity, thus, it was unreasonable to be receiving “outrageous bills in the name of Predictive or Estimated Bills.”
The petition assured of the consumers’ readiness to pay for their energy consumption as recorded by the meters fixed by ECG in their homes and shops and not estimated bills.
It demanded that “the blatant violation of our rights as consumers which undermines the very purpose of metering should stop immediately. The problematic billing software should be suspended, replaced or modified to ensure accurate meter readings and billings.
The disconnection of customers with errors in their bills must stop with immediate effect until they are resolved. Make prepaid meters optional (for those who would wish to have prepaid meters). ECG should do an audit of meters at the areas under Denu ECG because there are a lot of illegal meters in the system making the government lose a lot of revenue.”
Mr Timothy Affrem, Manager, Denu ECG in receiving the petition, sympathised with the demonstrators on their concerns and assured them that they had begun work to address their issues.
The Manager in an earlier interview with GNA acknowledged there might be genuine concerns and said the office was open to customers to visit and lodge complaints for possible redress.
“…We’re resolving it. Like overbilling, for instance, we need evidence to show the bills are not correct. If a customer comes to the office with a complaint and it’s genuine, we’ll take steps to correct it. We have staff committed to their core mandate. People come and I even have to go out with them to see if their complaints are true or not.
We’re correcting real concerns but if the bill is genuine and you’re owing, you must pay. We’re not here to burden or oppress people. We’re here to help, and serve customers.”
GNA