The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has instituted measures to recover GH¢25,517,567 million owed it from illegal connections and anomalies across the country.
Out of the total amount, GH¢14,416,558 has been retrieved as of December 2015, leaving an outstanding arrears of GH¢11,101,009.
The Public Relations Manager of the ECG, Mr William Boateng, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that 6,745 illegal connections were discovered and the culprits started paying the money in installments in 2015.
The campaign
He said officials of the Loss Control Unit of the ECG in the various regions embarked on a series of inspection and field investigations where the illegal connections were exposed.
To intensify the exercise, he added, a campaign dubbed “Loss Reduction” was launched in August 2015 to unearth illegal connections and check the integrity of the metres.
Following the campaign, Mr Boateng said 125,921 premises (both residential and commercial facilities) across the country were visited during the period and 6,745 illegal connections were exposed.
The big challenge
One of the major challenges facing the company is illegal connections, which include by–passing the meter, meter transfer and unauthorised services.
Mr Boateng stated that the company lost some revenue as a result of the act.
Consequently, he said the government set up the special electricity court to prosecute people who engaged in illegal connections.
He added that some of the culprits who were caught in the illegal connections last year were prosecuted after which some were remanded, jailed or fined.
The aim of the exercise, Mr Boateng added, was also to reduce both technical and commercial losses to the barest minimum.
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