ECG To Pay Over GH¢212k Fine

The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC), utilities regulator, has fined the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for breaching its obligations to power consumers.

The Commission has asked ECG to pay GH¢202,640 for failing to adhere to opening hours of its customer service centres and pre-payment metering vending points that serve consumers.

The company will also pay additional GH¢10,000 as penalty for failing to comply with the set date of payment of the actual fine of GH¢202,640.

Nana Yaa Jantuah, Public Affairs Director of PURC, in a statement released last Friday, said the GH¢202, 640 penalty also covers the ECG’s refusal to provide contingency measures to ensure customers of pre-payment metering could proceed to buy credits during the industrial strike, which was embarked on by the ECG workers in the first week of September 2016.

“The order to pay penalties should be adhered to by the ECG before Friday, September 16, 2016 as stipulated by law. Failure by the ECG to comply with this order shall attract an additional GH¢10,000 for each non-compliance order,” she warned.

It would be recalled that customers of ECG were unable to purchase credits at the beginning of September 2016 because the ECG workers embarked on a strike action over the privatization of ECG.

The aggrieved workers even turned away customers who came to the centers to pay their bills.

“The PURC, as the regulator of water and electricity services, wishes to indicate that the Commission has a mandate to protect the interest of the customer and ensure the financial viability of the utility service provider, and we will tip this balance carefully and equitably by using all the relevant laws and regulations available to assist us fulfill our regulatory mandate,” the statement said.

Source: Daily Guide