ECG-Police Unit grab illegal distributor of meters in Kumasi
A middle-aged man who allegedly imports and distributes electricity meters in Kumasi has been arrested by officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in Kumasi.
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The suspect, Bismark Kyeremateng, who is said to have been engaged in the illegal importation and distribution of the meters for the past two years, was arrested by the Special ECG-Police Unit of the Ashanti Business Unit (ABU).
Kyeremateng’s arrest followed the detection of one of the meters at a house near the Kumasi Abattoir, which later led to the discovery of 25 more of the meters at his residence at Kronum in Kumasi.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Communications Manager of the ECG Ashanti Business Unit, Mr Erasmus Kyereh Baidoo, said on April 19, 2017, some members of the intelligence unit of the company sighted the CIMAENS-made meter with registration number 04353050, which was unknown to the ECG system, in a house of a resident.
On the single-phase meters are written CIMAENS and “Germany Standards.”
Arrests
Mr Baidoo said upon examination of the meter and interrogation of the customer using it, the team was led to an electrician, Paul Owusu, as the person who installed the meter.
He said Owusu was subsequently arrested and he also led the team to another individual, whose identity was not disclosed and was found to be in possession of five of the meters.
Mr Baidoo stated that the two men then led the team to the residence of Kyeremateng, who they identified as the supplier of the meters.
A thorough search of Kyeremateng’s house led to the retrieval of 25 of the meters and three three-phased metres belonging to the ECG.
He said investigations also revealed that Kyeremateng and his team often charged their clients GH¢250 before installing the meters.
CIMAENS meters
Mr Baidoo explained that the CIMAENS meters were not known to the ECG and were also different from those used for the Self Help Electrification Projects (SHEP).
He said the Special ECG-Police Unit had commenced special operations and urged those in possession of such meters to surrender them to the ECG in their own interest.
Some of the meters