ECG retrieves over GH¢7 million from power theft

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Tema Regional office has recouped close to GH¢8 million from power theft in the year 2020.

The recovery has been realized through a stepped-up routine operational surveillance by the power distributor to breach the surging loss of revenue due to power siphoning.

The Tema Regional office of the Electricity Company of Ghana comprises seven districts namely South Tema, Afienya, Krobo, South Tema, Ada, Nungua, and Prampram.

Substantive customers in the districts, particularly Krobo, Afienya, and Ada presently use postpaid meters, as a few others are also on Self Help Electrification Project, SHEP meters.

The Revenue Protection and Loss Control Unit of the Tema Regional ECG had from January to December 2020, monitored 12, 635 meters of residential, non-residential, and Special Load Tariff customers as one surest step to curb power theft.

Out of the above figure, 541 customers were detected to have engaged in illegal power connections including meter bypassing, unauthorized service connection, and meter tampering.

This culminates in the loss of 10.81GWh of energy, translating into GH¢9,725,011.18.

The office through the detection has been able to retrieve GH¢7,855,404.98 from the above-mentioned amount.

Some culprits who are yet to defray their costs have entered into payment terms and plans with the company in order to recover the remaining GH¢1,869,606.28.

Sakyiwaa Mensah, the Tema Regional ECG Public Relations Officer speaking with Atinka News’ Edward Graham Sebbie who disclosed that ECG is clothed with the legal mandate to prosecute illegal power users, advised the Ghanaian public to go through the laid down processes to acquire meters for themselves.

She, therefore, called on the public to furnish the office with information on illegal power users as such informants will be rewarded with 6 percent of monies penalties from the culprits.

The Tema Regional ECG, PRO however assured of continues intensified monitoring operations to curb illegal power usage.