Board members of the Electricity Company of Ghana in office between 1 January to 18 March 2024 have until 30th May 2024 to pay GHS5,868,000.00 after the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) fined them for non-compliance.
PURC had imposed onto ECG a regulatory charge after its investigations revealed ECG failed to comply with 39 of L.I. 2413 that requires the public to given a 3-day notice before any planned interruption in power service.
“Analysis showed that of the 165 ECG planned outages, 40 were supported by public notices, while there were no notices for the remaining 125 outages. Further, 38 of the 40 notices did not comply with the requisite three-day statutory notice prescribed under Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413. This indicates that in 163 instances of planned outages, ECG did not comply with the law,” PURC concluded after its analysis.
PURC subsequently imposed a charge of 3,000 penalty units for each of the 163 breaches
“For failure to comply with 39 of L.I. 2413, the 3-day statutory notice required under Regulation the Commission in accordance with Regulation 45 of L.I. 2413, hereby imposes a regulatory charge of 3,000 penalty units on ECG for each of the 163 breaches, amounting to Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00),” the commission determined.
The Commission further determined that considering any payment from ECG’s revenue would be counter-productive, board members who ought to ensure ECG’s efficiency and compliance to regulations be liable for the charge.
“The Commission has determined that having regard to the nature of ECG’s ownership and business, the imposition of the penalty of Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00) on ECG would be counter-productive, as payment from ECG’s revenue would have a rebounding adverse effect on quality of service and consumers who pay tariffs to the company,” it explained
“For that reason, in the interest of justice and to protect the interests of consumers, the Commission shall hold the Board Members of ECG who were in office between 1 January to 18 March 2024 liable for the payment of the Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00). 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,” it concluded.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Edem Kojo
