The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)'s revenue protection task team, under the direction of the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, was able to recover more than GH1.59 million from two Accra-based businesses.
The Boston Investment Ltd. in Airport City and the Coca-Cola Firm Ltd. on Spintex Road, both in Accra, are the two businesses that owed the power distribution firm significant amounts of money.
The minister took the step to show his unwavering support for the operation, which is a part of the countrywide revenue collection effort the ECG has launched to recover arrears totaling around GH5.7 billion.
Dr. Prempeh informed the media during the exercise last Wednesday that he completely backed the energy distributor's efforts to recoup every pesewa due to it.
This experiment, he added, "is a component of broader efforts to ensure that the ECG remains viable to provide effective service to consumers."
The Energy Minister noted that he was on the team to make it known that official support was given to the exercise.
The businesses, which had already written checks to pay off their obligations just before the minister arrived on the scene, did so straight away.
The management of the firms assured customers that they would work around the clock to pay their bills on schedule, explaining that the delay in the payment of power bills was due to issues in the procedures.
Bill defaults
Dr. Prempeh lamented the scenario where businesses stacked up debts for a very long period and refused to pay in his interactions with the management of both enterprises.
In order to receive the best service possible, he said, "as a nation, we cannot continue to tolerate the attitude of non-payment of bills, among other illegalities."
In addition, the Energy Minister stated, "The financial capacity of the generator, transmitter, and distributor is very much anchored on prompt payment of bills, especially as we work to clamp down on all forms of losses and intra-sector debts."
According to him, these three components of the power value chain are interdependent, so we must cooperate to stop losses of any kind.
Dr. Prempeh emphasized that there was absolutely no justification for failing to pay power bills and used an instance in which no one could bargain with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to fill their automobiles up with gasoline on credit.
He questioned, "Why can't you pay for the electricity you use in the same way that you do for fuel when you need it?"
The minister, who is also the MP for Manhyia South, went on to say that the present power supply is luxurious given how expensive fuel for generators was for Ghanaians between 2013 and 2016 during the "dumsor" era.
Therefore, in order for the value chain to operate efficiently, the energy minister asked consumers to make quick payments.
In order for the public to understand the purpose of the exercise, Dr. Prempeh said that he anticipated the ECG to disclose the entire amount of money it had been able to recover.
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