Mr. Asante showing a fake metre to the media
The Accra East Region of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has recovered a total of GH¢104,374,280 as part of the ongoing national revenue mobilization exercise.
The amount represents monies recovered from debts, illegal connections and other avenues in the one-month long exercise.
The Accra East Region as part of the exercise disconnected and removed some fake metres which were not mapped by the company at a community at Oyarifa Anointing Down.
Some residents of the seemingly new community had directly connected to the national grid just a week after officials of ECG from the Dodowa District removed fake metres which do not record the power they consume hence they using the power for free.
Commercial Manager, Accra East, Jonathan Asante, said there are estimated 20,000 fake metres in circulation within its operational area and these are believed to have been imported from neighbouring country,Togo.
This, he said is costing the company GH¢2 million every month as those metres are unable to capture what the users actually consume.
Mr. Asante also indicated that the manufacturer of the fake metres tried to imitate the government’s Self Help Electrification Project (SHEP) metres, by labelling them ‘property of Ministry of Power’, which is non-existent.
“These meters come here without the knowledge of ECG, Energy Commission is not aware and so if the standard of cable used is low then, it can create fire outbreak. We seized over 40 pieces of such metres recently from the community and also handed over some suspected dealers to the police,” he disclosed.
He indicated that some of fake metres were intercepted in Central, Ashanti and Volta Regions, “but as typical of Ghanaians they are covering their sources.” He, however, stated that some perpetrators are currently facing prosecution.
Mr. Asante added that the strategy was to confiscate the fake metres, know their consumption, debit the customer’s new accounts and make them pay all they had consumed, including penalty before they get any new ECG metres.
Assembly Member for Ayi-Mensah Kweiman Electoral Area, Peter Kudjo Geh, confirmed the metres he assisted the residents in acquiring were not supplied by ECG.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak