<<Print>>The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), a couple of days ago, had established that the Electricity Company of Ghana provided inaccurate reasons for the recent erratic power outages experienced by consumers.
Additionally, it blamed the Ghana Grid Company for making unplanned demands to cut supply, making it unable to provide a load management timetable for consumers.
Out of 715 transformer details provided, only 31 were loaded less than 70%, while 595 were loaded between 70- 100%, and 89 were loaded above 100%.
Furthermore, the commission found that out of 647 outage incidents between 7 pm and 11 pm, only 3 were planned outages related to transformers.
"Analysis of the data submitted showed that out of 715 transformer details submitted, 31 were loaded less than 70%, 595 were loaded between 70-100% and 89 were loaded above 100%", the PURC said.
"The data submitted by ECG was further compared to the total outage data provided by the ECG for the period January to March 18, 2024. The Commission established that 647 outage incidents occurred between 7 pm and 11 pm. Of these 647 outage incidents, only 3 were planned outages relating to transformers.
"The analyses showed that the majority of the outages between 7 pm to 11 pm were as a result of load management operations by GRIDCo and faults unrelated to overloaded transformers," PURC added in a report issued on April 15, 2024.
PURC concluded that ECG's attribution of the outages to transformer overload was not factually accurate and is currently investigating the true causes of the outages.
As a result, former board members of ECG who served from January 1st to March 18th, 2024, have been slapped with regulatory charges totalling about GH¢5.9 million for overseeing power outages without notifying consumers.
The name includes the current ECG Managing Director, Samuel Mahama Dubik, and eight others.
Meanwhile in a letter addressed by Yaw Acheampong Boafo, the solicitor for members of the board of directors of ECG from 1st August 2023 to 18th March , 2024 has indicated that "the Commission's basis for holding the Board Members personally liable is because "These Board Members were at all material times responsible for providing strategic direction to ensure the provision of safe, adequate, efficient, reasonable and non-discriminatory service to consumers".
The solicitor added that, as stated, under Section 38 of Act 538 a default on the part of a public utility in the payment of a penalty may lead to the personal liability of a principal officer of the public utility.
Under Section 49 of Act 538 a principal officer means the person responsible for the day-to-day administration of the affairs of the public utility.
Board members of ECG are not responsible for the day-to-day administration of ECG and, therefore, are not principal officers within the intendment of Act 538 to be able to be held liable for a default on the part of the public utility ECG.
The Commission's Order imposing regulatory charges on the members of the Boards is unlawful, null and void as same is without jurisdiction.
By this Order, the Commission has unlawfully clothed itself with the powers of the High Court, and imposed a sentence on the Board Members, without having been given the opportunity to be heard which amounts to a breach of the rules of natural Justice.
According to the solicitor, his clients, therefore, reject the contents of the regulatory order relative to any personal liability on their part.
He however prayed that the Commission take notice of the contents of this letter and act accordingly.
Read full statement below: