<<Print>>

Some residents of European Town, a fishing community in Sekondi, have accused certain officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) of taking as much as GH�250.00 from customers to provide them with what they termed as �express pre-paid meters.� �In fact when you go to the ECG office here for the forms to apply for the pre-paid meter, you will get some officials who will tell to you that if you want the meter quickly then you should pay GH�250.00 otherwise when you pay the normal amount of GH�8.50.00 it will take a long time before you can get your meter fixed,� they alleged. The residents revealed that electrical poles in the vicinity do not have numbers, noting that they find it difficult reporting faults on the poles to officials of the ECG. This came to light when members of the Sekondi Consumer Service Committee of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) last Monday organized an out-door educational programme for the people in the fishing community about the functions of the committee as well as various utilities issues. The well-attended public forum was also used to educate customers about electricity and water services and how electricity tariffs are calculated and set as well as energy efficiency and conservation. James Abban, Sekondi District Commercial Officer of ECG, debunked the accusations, saying the allegations were unfounded and that the customers usually deal with connection or middle men. He appealed to the consumers to desist from dealing with connection men, adding that they should contact ECG offices whenever they want pre-paid meters. Mr. Abban urged the people to discard all incandescent bulbs and replace them with energy saving ones as a means of conserving energy. Leon Acquaye, Western Regional Manager of PURC indicated that the programme was aimed at educating consumers to know their rights, among others.