According to William K. Asare, the Billing and Revenue Protection Officer of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), 331 people have been detained for power theft in the Upper East and North-East districts.
According to him, some of the people who were imprisoned connected to the national grid without using NEDCo, while others purposefully tampered with their metres to either pay the firm less each month or not at all.
When NEDCo representatives visited the customers' homes and places of employment, according to Mr. Asare, the power theft was discovered. He was speaking to the media about the results of the month-long revenue mobilisation effort throughout its operational regions.
He stated that letters stating "some of the affected customers have duly paid their bills while others are yet to pay" were sent to the arrested individuals along with their power use invoices.
Customers who have not paid the bills for unlawfully connecting electricity to their various enterprises will be charged in court and subject to the full force of the law, according to Mr. Asare.
retrieved sum
Regarding the amount recovered as part of the revenue mobilisation drive, he said that out of a total of GH125 million, customers have contributed more than GH7.9 million.
In respect to the debts that have been collected thus far, which involve post-paid payments, he said, "For us, we are excited," saying, "Post-paid bills typically total GH5.8 million per month; therefore, if NEDCo has been able to collect such an amount within this period, it is a good move."
He continued by saying that the company will continue the practise in order to recover all outstanding debts from consumers in order to maintain business operations and improve customer service.
He also mentioned that a total of 6,321 clients who owed different amounts of money were disconnected during the operation, adding that "many of the affected customers have since paid part of their debts, which paved the way for their reconnection."
"The good news is that we've hired a number of institutions that previously didn't pay their invoices, notably the medical facilities, that have agreed to settle their debts, both now and in the future, by signing payment agreements.
Crisis in Bawku
Ishmael Ben Kwofie, the NEDCo Engineer for the Upper East Area, bemoaned how the Bawku situation had hurt the region's ability to mobilise money since authorities were unable to collect payments because of the heightened security.
The Bawku Municipality was the company's breadbasket, he said, adding that "unfortunately, for the past two years since the conflict resurfaced, NEDCo has not been able to mobilise anything in terms of revenue due to the situation there." He also mentioned Bolgatanga as the company's other main revenue generator.
Despite this, he stated that NEDCo has continued to enhance local services for the benefit of consumers, emphasising that "at the moment, to better serve electricity customers, four new transformers are being injected in the Bawku region.
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