Dr Kofi Obutey, Director of Communication and Research at the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), has disclosed that the Commission is discussing with the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG), possible compensation for ECG customers affected by the prepaid meter technical challenges.
He said, the discussion and its outcome are necessary since it is no fault of the customers that they could not access prepaid meter credit.
“Compensation package is being discussed so that customers could be compensated because it is through no fault of theirs that they have to endure this blackout.”
“Various options are being considered but it will not be fair for me to put out when conclusions have not been drawn,” he said Monday, October 3, 2022.
Dr Obutey however, did not reveal the exact compensation package for customers since the matter is still under consideration.
Meanwhile, the PURC said they have been working with ECG since the technical hitches surfaced last week to solve the problem and some customers have been served.
He, however, explained that the long queues are as a result of a backlog of customers who were not served due to the system challenge.
PURC has stressed that affected customers should avoid connecting electricity illegally as it is an offence which is punishable by the law.
“There will be no compensation for such persons,” he said in an interview with TV3.
Background
On Wednesday, September 28, the ECG announced that technical challenges had disrupted power purchase.
The challenges, according to ECG, affected the prepaid metering system.
The company said customers in the Volta, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi, Tema, Cape coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Swedru, Koforidua, Nkawkaw, and Tafo had been affected.
“Affected customers should please note that our ICT team is working assiduously to correct the anomaly and restore the system to normalcy.”
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this technical challenge,” it added.
However, the company announced on Thursday, September 29, 2022, that the technical challenge had been resolved in some parts of the country.
In a press statement, the power service providers said customers in Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Western and Volta regions could visit their district offices to purchase electricity.
The statement added; “customers should please note that our team is working to restore the systems in the affected areas, including Kumasi and Tema, as well as the 3rd party vending centres and the Mobile App”.
But a score of customers continued to complain of the challenge still affecting them.