The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is set to embark on a mass disconnection exercise that will see all defaulting customers including hospitals and schools in the Ashanti Region taken off the national grid.
The ECG has been disconnecting organizations and institutions which have failed to settle their unpaid bills.
[contextly_sidebar id=”RkWPXoJ49avZx0CnGVC5x0TsFkadGdhN”]The exercise is aimed at recovering all outstanding monies owed the company in order to assist in their operation.
Some institutions that have been disconnected by the ECG include the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Koforidua Polytechnic, Kumasi and Technical Institute.
Cabinet however directed utility companies to exempt all public health and educational institutions from the ongoing nationwide disconnection exercise.
A statement signed by a Deputy Education Minister in charge of pre-tertiary, Alex Kyeremeh said the directive was given due to the critical services the institutions render to the general public.
But speaking in an interview with Citi News the Public Relations Manager of ECG in the Ashanti region, Erasmus Baidoo, insisted they have been compelled to embark on the exercise because consumers owe huge sums of money.
He revealed that the ECG lacks funds to support its operations hence has resorted to the mass disconnection exercise to compel consumers to defray their debt.
“The exercise is not targeting any particular person, it cuts across tertiary institutions, hospitals, hotels, banks, filling stations, companies… We expect that at least all those who owe us will respond favourably. If you do not have money to pay everything upfront at least we want you to schedule payment.If we are not able to collect the monies now, a time will come when we will not be in a position to pay our power suppliers,”he explained.
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah