The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cautioned its customers that they have 14 days to pay their current bills or face being disconnected.
Acting Volta Regional General Manager, Ing. Michael Buabin, announced this at a press conference following the company’s one-month national revenue mobilisation exercise, which saw it recoup over 40 million Ghana Cedis in Volta and parts of Oti Regions.
Customers who do not pay their bills within the 14-day grace period will be disconnected, according to Mr. Buabin, in accordance with PURC Regulation LI 2413.
Ing. Buabin also stated that ECG does not take pleasure in disconnecting customers because the more a customer consumes power, the more money the company makes.
“Disconnection is only carried out as a last resort to prevent the customer from accruing more debt and to enable the company to gather more revenue to keep the electricity supply chain running” he noted.
Customers who received their March bills between the 1st and 10th of April will be disconnected if they do not pay by April 24.
Adding that “the disconnection may not necessarily be due to the current bill, but due to previous arrears as stated in the three columns at the bottom of the bill, namely; CURRENT BILL, PREVIOUS BALANCE, and AMOUNT PAYABLE, Customers are urged to pay the figure stated in the AMOUNT PAYABLE column of their bill to avoid indebtedness.”
During a recent revenue mobilisation exercise, ECG discovered that its customers are not making regular payments, resulting in an increasing debt profile.
As a result, the company pledged to continue its revenue mobilisation efforts by conducting the exercise during the last week of each month.
Customers who do not receive their bills are encouraged to pay on account, according to PURC Regulation LI 2413.
Mr. Ruforson Ernest Ativui, Volta Regional Revenue Protection Manager, urged customers to stop making illegal connections and to allow ECG staff access to their metres, noting that denying staff access to metres impedes smooth operations.
The ECG PowerApp, USSD shortcode *226#, or any bank are all options for customers to pay their bills, according to Mr. Abrefah Besea, the Volta Regional Commercial Manager.
