Deputy Minister warns ‘power thieves’
The Deputy Minister of Power, John Abdulai Jinapor, has warned individuals and organisations engaged in power theft and illegal connection to stop the act or face severe sanctions.
Advertisement
Leading a task force made up of officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Energy Commission to inspect some industries in Accra, the deputy minister said an exercise had begun to clamp down on illegal power consumers throughout the year.
He said the exercise, which would target industries, entertainment centres, hotels, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), had been necessitated by what he described as the wanton theft of power by some individuals and organisations - a development he said had undermined the revenue drive of the sector.
Mr Jinapor gave the warning when the task force went to the Accra North Industrial enclave to inspect some industries to ascertain the nature of their electricity connection and the state of electricity meters.
“We cannot continue to have a system where some people pay for power and others do not. It is unfair and creates imbalance,” he stated.
Illegal connection and the non-payment of bills remain some of the biggest challenges facing the Electricity Company of Ghana. (ECG)
The situation continues to worsen despite efforts by the company to bring it under control.
System losses by the ECG is currently at 23.5 per cent, causing the power distributor to lose several millions of Ghana cedis, according to the Ministry of Power.
