Over 1,550 cases of illegal power connection in Tema in February 2023 alone-ECG
The Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) in the Tema region has disclosed that it has detected 1550 illegal connections in the Tema region and caused the arrest of some defaulters.
Tema North, Tema South, Nungua, Afienya, Prampram, Ada, Krobo, Juapong, and Ashaiman are the nine districts under the Tema region.
An operation carried out by ECG in the region detected 1,555 illegal connections in February 2023 alone.
The company detected these illegalities through routine meter monitoring to check the integrity of meters which forms part of ECG’s core duties.
In total, 6,491 illegal connections were uncovered within six months in the period from September 2022 to February 2023 by the Revenue Protection Unit of the ECG in the Tema region.
But the month of February on that timeline recorded the highest number of illegal connections which led to the arrest of these persons.
Out of GHC2,891,263.4 in unpaid bills, the ECG retrieved an amount of GHC2,149,148.25 in the special exercise.
The company detected these illegalities through routine meter monitoring to check the integrity of meters which forms part of ECG’s core duties.
According to ECG, the arrested customers will be charged with the offense of stealing and be prosecuted.
ECG has therefore admonished customers to desist from all forms of illegal connection which includes meter bypass, meter tampering, and direct connection, saying that “Basically, customers should please stay away from fidgeting with all ECG installations including meters.”
The exercise began on Monday, March 20, 2023, after ECG announced the closure of its main offices except for customer support departments, in order to embark on a month-long exercise.
All ECG staff, from top management to junior officers, will be used to retrieve all the monies owed to the company.
As a result, the Managing Director of ECG, Mr. Dubik Mahama has toured all the operational regions of ECG to sensitize the staff on how to go about the mobilization of the revenue. He said they should respect the customer at all times.
He also reminded the staff that ECG is a business and not a charity, thus they must all start behaving as business-minded people.
It is expected that at the end of the exercise, 100% of the debt owed to ECG would be recovered.