The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ing. Julius Kpekpena has denied allegations that customers are being overcharged for power consumption, despite widespread reports of sharp increases in billing.
Speaking to Starr FM, Mr. Kpekpena maintained that internal investigations and field tests conducted by the power distributor confirmed the integrity of the billing system.
He stated that “no customer has been overcharged for the electricity they consumed” and expressed “without a shadow of doubt” that the calculations remain accurate.
“Let me say here categorically that no customer has been overcharged for the electricity they consumed. No customer. We have conducted our tests, our field investigation, and I can say without a shadow of doubt, no customer has been overcharged. However, it is not untrue that customers saw a sharp jump in the rate at which the credit is consumed,” he stated.
The Managing Director however acknowledged that many customers have experienced a “sharp jump” in the rate at which their credit is depleted which he attributed to technical delays in updating tariffs on prepaid meters across the country.
According to Mr. Kpekpena, when national electricity tariffs are adjusted, the new rates must be communicated remotely to individual meters via mobile networks.
He claimed that “dead zones” in mobile telephony coverage have prevented some meters from receiving these broadcast updates in a timely manner.
“For our prepaid meters, when we change tariff, we have to communicate that tariff to the meter. And you know that we still have a lot of dead zones in our mobile telephony system, okay? So, we broadcast the tariff and the meters are to receive this tariff. And some meters don’t receive that,” he added.
The MD explained that the current approved tariff for a standard residential customer is approximately GHC 2.1 per kilowatt-hour.
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The recent spike in costs felt by consumers often occurs when a meter that has been lagging on an older, lower rate, such as the 2021 tariff, finally synchronizes with the current approved rate.
“It means that not all our meters are currently on that tariff,” Kpekpena noted, suggesting that the perceived overcharging is actually the meter adjusting to the correct, up-to-date billing cycle.
ECG, he said, will continue to assure the public that its billing processes are transparent and that technical teams are working to ensure all meters are aligned with the latest regulatory approvals.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
