The Electricity Company of Ghana Limited, Accra West region, has launched an intensive campaign to crack down on users of fake and illegal electricity meters in the region.
The campaign, dubbed “No to Fake Meters”, is in collaboration with the Ghana Police service, and follows a pilot programme undertaken at Adeiso and surrounding areas in November, 2022.
The purpose of the ‘No to fake meters’ campaign, according to the Company, is to identify and arrest the syndicates behind the distribution of such meters, and to stop the bleeding of the company’s revenue.
Speaking to the media, the Regional Revenue Protection Manager, and team-lead of the campaign, Dr. Mark Owusu-Ansah described the fake meters as “toys”. “These fake meters are only heavy empty cases that look authentic at a glance”, he said.
Dr. Owusu-Ansah revealed that “there is no mechanism inside the meters to measure energy consumed. A bar directly connects the output and input terminals, creating a direct connection in the device. This means that the customer uses electricity without paying anything at all, leading to increased losses for ECG”.
Communities identified for the exercise include Daman, Sakyikrom, Amoakrom, Duadekye, Ntoaso, Daaman, Akuamu, Nkyenkyen and Amanfrom.
Last year, the Accra West region recovered GH¢10,363,755 from 1,900 customers who were apprehended for engaging in various forms of illegal connections.
These customers were surcharged for the power they used and some were also tried in court for stealing power.
Dr Owusu-Ansah revealed that this year, about 20,000 customer accounts will be remotely monitored to identify prepaid customers who do not purchase credits. These customers will then be visited for a physical assessment of their meters.
The Accra West Regional General Manager of ECG, Ing. Ebenezer Ghunney warned customers to desist from using power without paying for it.
He noted that the Company continues to invest heavily in the power distribution network and charged customers to abstain from stealing power, saying, this deprives the company of revenue and affects the quality of power supply.
The Accra West region has eight operational districts. These are Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korlebu and Nsawam.