A 54 year-old electrician has been arrested in Kunsu, a community in the Ahafo Ano South West District of the Ashanti region, for installing fake meters for Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) customers.

The suspect, John Kofie, was apprehended by the Abuakwa Police after the Ashanti Regional Small Business Unit (SBU) monitoring team went to the community to retrieve GH�11,000.00 owed by a customer as part of the nationwide revenue mobilization exercise.

During an inspection of the customer�s premises, the team discovered that the original meter, which had accumulated debts, had been replaced with a fake one.

The customer implicated Kofie, who had installed the fake meter for him. Further investigations revealed that the suspect had installed many fake pre-paid meters, which were out of the ECG database, resulting in massive illegal connections in the community and its environs.

Kofie was handed over to the Abuakwa Police in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality for further investigations. A search of his residence revealed seven new unauthorized pre-paid meters with fake moratorium documents under his bed.

A moratorium is a temporary suspension of an activity or law until further consideration warrants lifting the suspension, usually imposed by a government, regulators, or a business.

When questioned about how he obtained those meters, Kofie said a staff member from ECG gave them to him upon negotiations. He has since been handed over to the Ashanti Regional Police Command for further investigations to help arrest his other accomplices.

Mr. Kofi Danso, the Ashanti Regional Manager in charge of revenue mobilization at the ECG, warned the public to desist from tampering with ECG�s authorized installed meters.

He advised that anyone caught would face the full rigours of the law and urged the public to go through the appropriate channels to acquire meters to avoid any implications.

Mr. Danso also advised the public to quickly go to the various ECG offices to clear their debts before their power was cut off. He debunked the public allegations that ECG was short of meters and assured that there were enough meters to serve customers.

The nationwide revenue mobilization exercise has been successful so far, with the ECG retrieving about GH�50 million in the Ashanti Region alone in a few weeks. The exercise is aimed at ensuring that all ECG customers pay their debts and to help the company recover lost revenue.

The ECG has been working tirelessly to prevent illegal connections and revenue losses due to fraud. The arrest of John Kofie is an indication of the company�s commitment to tackling the issue and ensuring that customers pay for the power they consume.

The ECG has urged the public to report any suspicious activities or people who are involved in illegal connections or other forms of fraud.