Botianor residents threaten to demonstrate over installation of ECG prepaid meters

Residents of Bortianor and its surrounding communities continue to beseige the district office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to register their displeasure at problems with the new prepaid meters being installed in the area.
Whereas some of the residents, especially those living at Mallam and the GICEL Estate, say the installation of prepaid meters has astronomically increased their electricity bills, others are angry at the ECG management “for installing faulty meters”.

They have, therefore, threatened to hit the streets to demonstrate against the ECG if nothing is done to rectify the problem, which they claim is ruining their businesses.

On a daily basis, the ECG office is inundated with frustrated residents who have problems with their power supply.

According to Ms Korkoi Mota, a resident of Gbawe, the workers of the company installing the meters jumped over the wall into her house to install the meter when no one was at home.

“They left my home in darkness because they did not complete the work and we slept in darkness over the whole weekend. They were also supposed to fix a device called ‘cut-out’ but they did not and they are not responding to any calls to rectify whatever operational problems they have caused, as they claim that they have completed their work in the area,” Ms Mota said.

She further stated that her neighbours were really upset with the manner in which the workers entered their homes when no one was there and were even planning to take legal action against the ECG.

Ms Mota expressed concern over the military-style installation, saying the ECG was so determined to meet its deadline and so did not give ‘a human face’ to the exercise, adding that the contractor needed to return to the area to address all the problems created.

A bar owner of Bortianor, Albert Dapaah, also told the Daily Graphic that since the new prepaid meters were introduced in April this year, bills had shot up, making it difficult for people to continue with their businesses.

“I bought GH¢50 credit on Friday and waited until Saturday morning to load it into the new meter. I was shocked when I came back from church on Sunday to discover that it had run out,” he said.

A 27-year-old man, who gave his name as Paa Duuk, said since the new prepaid meters were installed, he had never had frequent power supply because the “meters continue to break down”.

“ECG should either bring back the old meters or find a way to connect our power, else we will continue to invade its offices every day,” he said.

When contacted, the accountant at the Bortianor District of the ECG, Mr Kingsley Anane, said there was nothing wrong with the new prepaid meters.

He said the new meters had the same functions and worked the same way as the old ones, adding that most of the people who claimed they could not get power since the installation of the new meters were people who indulged in illegal connection.

“The installation of the prepaid meters has made it impossible for people to indulge in illegal connection or other means of tapping power,” he said.

Commenting on the high consumption rate, Mr Anane attributed it to the new tariffs which commenced from October 1, this year.

By Dominic Moses Awuah/Daily Graphic/Ghana