The Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Erasmus Kyere Baidoo has disclosed that the company has accumulated a whopping GHC1 billion debt over the last few years owing to poor payment of bills.
According to him, affluent people and companies are cheating on the ECG significantly through illegal connections.
Speaking on the Abusua Nkommo on Abusua FM hosted by Kojo Marfo, he said companies and people install many air-conditioners and other gadgets in their offices and homes but fail to pay the commensurate bill thereby causing ECG to accumulate debt.
“The people in Kumasi alone have accumulated close to 1 billion debt for our company by refusing to pay their bills, they don’t want to pay their electricity bills and still engaging in illegal connections. The most annoying part is that when there’s light off or a problem, the same people will speak heartlessly against our company,” he indicated.
Mr. Kyere Baidoo noted that the people undertaking the illegal act deploy sophisticated tricks and are sometimes difficult to find and arrest.
The PRO noted “You will see some houses and companies built very beautiful but owners want to use electricity for free, I don’t know why they can build big houses and can’t pay for their electricity bills.”
Mr. Kyere Baidoo further cited Zongo communities as areas where people also significantly indulge in the illegal connection expedition.
“If you enter the Zongo areas you will see wires both on the ground, walls and other things entering people’s homes. If you see the number of connections on some of the metres you will be surprised but let there be a problem and see what they will tell us (ECG),” he worried.
He added that there are 60 percent postpaid and 40 percent prepaid customers in the region. Out of the 60 percent postpaid customers, only 18 percent willingly visit the various ECG offices to pay their bills.
Mr. Baidoo, therefore, admonished ECG customers across the region to eschew illegal connections and inculcate the habit of paying their electricity bills to help the company always meet its targets.
Fatawu Bayaga
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