ECG decries GH¢400m consumer debts

Dr. Kwaku Osafo, Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana

The Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Dr. Kwaku Osafo, has said that the Government of Ghana, together with other customers, owe the company about GH¢400 million, which could otherwise be used to improve customer services.

He said the company was struggling to get the consumers to pay their debts, saying the responsibility of the consumer was important in the running of affairs, because, 'if you pay, then we will be able to provide the service.'

According to him, the company was undergoing a remodeling exercise to upgrade the capacity to provide a stable system, which it was hoping to do within a year, and effectively take care of problems such as power outages.

Dr. Osafo was speaking at the media launch of the ECG's Customer Charter and Complaints Handling booklets, aimed at guiding the operations of the service provider in a more effective and efficient manner.

He pointed out that electricity was important for the running of the economy, and that Ghana needs about 5,000 megawatts consumption rate, which the government was aiming to achieve by 2015, instead of the current 2,200 the country was running on.

Also, with the discovery of oil, if the processing of gas is done properly, Ghana can generate adequate power to meet the increasing needs of the country, especially, in the face of the influx of new residential facilities across the country, he noted.

He observed that the demand for electricity on a yearly basis, ranged between 16% - 18%, which required consumers to pay their bills promptly to allow for efficient and reliable service provision, lamenting, 'GH¢400 million is a lot of money.'

He continued: 'Unfortunately, those who complain most are those who do not pay their bills,' adding that the acquisition of meters was a problem, because Ghanaians preferred to use unorthodox means to obtain a meter, instead of going through the routine procedure for its acquisition.

According to him, the charter and complaints handling launch represented a new phase of the ECG, and that the company would no longer behave as a civil servant, but, 'as a company that works efficiently and makes profit.'

He urged the public to corporate with the company in its service delivery, since its output also depended on other organisations like the Volta River Authority and Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), saying, 'so what comes to us is what we distribute,' while urging the media to support them in educating the public.

The Managing Director of ECG, Mr. Anthony Gyampo said the launch of the customer charter and complaint handling documents showed that the company was serious about meeting its objective, which is to delight its customers.

Thus, the ECG was stating its obligations to the customer, and also a benchmark for quality service delivery, he noted, stressing, 'ECG want Ghanaians to know that we are serious.'

He urged staff of the company to be mindful of the content of the charter and complaints procedure, because, 'We have imposed sanctions on ourselves, and if this is to be applied fully, our workers must understand it fully.'

Taking the media through the contents of the customer charter, the Director of Customer Services, Dr. N.K. Smart-Yeboah, said the charter covered issues of customer enquiries/complaints and appointments, request for electricity supply, planned interruption of supply, and supply restoration.

Others issues include system voltage, meter, customer responsibility, payment guarantee, exemptions from compensation payments, and issue resolution.

On the whole, the charter seeks to provide compensation for failure of the ECG to meet obligations to customers within specified periods relating to different services.

Dr. Smart-Yeboah pointed out that the monetary compensation, which varied with services, or would mostly be given by crediting a customer's account with the equivalent units, while assuring that such payments would not be exacted indirectly from consumers.

For instance, regarding meter complaint, it is stated: 'Following the receipt of a complaint about the functioning of a meter, we guarantee to visit the customer's premises within 12 hours to investigate the matter. If the meter is faulty of malfunctioning, we will replace the meter within 30 hours, after establishing the defect.'

t further states: 'If we fail to do this, we will pay the following amount: GH¢10 to the residential customer, GH¢25 to the non-residential customer, and GH¢50 to the industrial customer.'

However, 'This commitment shall not apply, if either meter tampering or illegal/unauthorised consumption of electricity is established.'

In terms of payment guarantee, the ECG undertakes that 'In this charter, we have indicated the payments we will make whenever we are unable to meet these guarantees. In most cases, you need not do anything, as we will readily make the payments.'