The Chief Executive Officer of the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has alleged that there is a cabal in the electricity sector ripping off Ghanaians.
According to Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, he personally suspects there’s a cabal in the electricity sector that is determined to rip off Ghanaians forever.
Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah further raised questions surrounding the persistent controversies surrounding electricity meters, pointing to repeated replacement of meters, claiming that they may be driven by financial interests of the cabal.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday, February 28, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah stated, “I personally suspect there’s a cabal in the electricity sector that is determined to rip off Ghanaians forever. Somehow I believe it because of what I have experienced,” he said.
“You see the whole thing of meters, meter selling, every administration wants to bring its own meters because that’s how they make the money to cheat us,” he alleged.
He further drew comparison from his personal experience abroad, “Do you know the time they imported some meters from Egypt? They were all discarded because they never worked”.
“I was in Tanzania for five years. The same meter worked for me, and it continued to work when I left after five years,” he said. “Why is it that we are changing meters?”
“Because you know why? It’s a way for them to make money. Contracts, procurement. And that’s the truth,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, the General Manager for External Communications at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has said the newly installed smart meters by the ECG are capturing accurate consumption of consumers.
According to Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, the old meters were defective and failed to capture actual consumption.
He detailed that the smart meters are designed to record precise electricity usage.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Wednesday, February 25, Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku stated, “If you are using an old car, the efficiency wouldn’t be like that of a new car. So if you are using an obsolete meter that is not able to capture the correct readings, that is what you are going to experience.
“If you have a meter which is smart and able to capture accurate readings, that is the experience they are going to have.
“We have intensified our education for our customers that the meters they were using are defective and malfunctioning, and were not capturing the right consumption, and that was affecting our revenue,” he said.
In related news, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has given Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) a 48-hour ultimatum to resolve consumer concerns about the rapid depletion of prepaid electricity units.
The 48-hour ultimatum follows an emergency meeting that was convened to address widespread complaints of over-billing.
Dr Shafic Suleman, the Acting Executive Secretary of PURC, stressed that the move is aimed at safeguarding consumer interests and ensuring improved service delivery.
He further expressed confidence that ECG would act swiftly to resolve the matter, warning that the Commission would not hesitate to apply lawful measures should the company fail to meet the directive.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Thursday, February 26, Dr Shafic Suleman stated, “The consumer must be protected, safeguarded, and be able to have equal access to ECG, and that is the focus. ECG is supposed to work timeously to solve the problem”.
The development follows the PURC, which had earlier ordered the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to an emergency meeting over public complaints about fast-draining prepaid units.