The Volta Regional Revenue Protection Manager of Electricity Company of Ghana [ECG] Limited, Ing William Addey, has said his outfit has recorded an astronomical increase in revenue collection as a result of mechanisms adopted to block revenue leakages in the system.
Ing Addey, who identified illegal connections and tempering with ECG’s metering devices as some of the ways consumers steal electricity to defraud the Company, said control mechanisms were intensified between 2016 and 2017, and they have yielded results.
He said although such illegalities are not rampant in the Volta Region, the company was committed to clamping down the few miscreants in the system.
“In terms of illegal connections, the Volta Region unlike places like Accra, Tema, Ashanti, Western Region and others, we don’t record so many cases. This is not because the people are not involved in the illegal act, but our activities have been fighting the few that are engaged in it. We visit homes, shops, offices unaware, and we make sure we arrest offenders and ensure they are dealt with per the laws”
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of a media interaction by the company on Thursday in Ho, the Revenue Protection Manager said as a result of the intensive surveillance, revenues generated have shot up from GHC 162,382.80 in 2016, to about 181,336.85 representing a 112 percent increment.
The Volta Regional Manager, Ing Joseph Mensah Forson said his experience in working with the Unit that fights illegal connections exposed him to the mindset of consumers who are susceptible to stealing electricity.
He cited sheer greed especially on the part of factories and wealthy individuals who would want to maximize profits or meet their insatiable desires through dubious means as one of the reasons people steal power.
He said others engage in the act out of desperation for supply without waiting approval from authorities, and also due to the inability of some ECG Officials in restoring faulty meters.
Ing Forson, who is due for transfer from the region to Tema, assured the public that his successor would through team work sustain and improve the quality of service ECG delivers to the people of the Volta Region, and also implored electricity consumers to continue to support the company by helping fight illegal connections.
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By: King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana