Some of the participants
THE WESTERN Regional office of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says it received a total of 1,064 complaints relating to utility services in the region from January to August, this year.
The complaints bothered on the quality of service, frequent power outages, voltage fluctuations, no flow of water, pipe bursts and leakages, among others.
According to the PURC, 958 of the complaints were lodged against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), 72 against the Ghana Water Company Limited, and 23 were lodged by the two utility companies against consumers.
Out of the total number of complaints received, 1,036 were resolved.
This was revealed by Cassiel Asiedu, Regional Public Relations Officer of PURC, at the maiden Consumer Service Clinic by the commission in Takoradi on Monday.
As part of the mandate of the commission to receive, investigate and settle complaints relating to utility services, the Consumer Service Clinic has been instituted.
The initiative will create a platform where customers of utilities would be given the opportunity to present their complaints to both PURC and the utilities, with the expected assurance of their complaints being resolved.
It was attended by officials from the GWCL and ECG, public and private institutions, assembly members as well as security agencies among others.
It was also used to collect feedback from the public on the performance of the utility companies.
The utility companies used the occasion to brief consumers on their operations and complaint management processes.
As part of the programme, a complaints desk was set up by the commission.
Jonathan Akwetey, Regional Manager, said the commission would ensure that all complaints lodged during the Consumer Service Clinic are addressed to the satisfaction of customers.
Stanley Mantey, Head of Communication, GWCL, said despite all the operational challenges, the company has put in place efficient complaints management systems to help ensure customer satisfaction.
Michael Brefo, Acting Regional Manager of ECG, advised consumers to continue to use power wisely to conserve energy.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi