About 4,000 out of the 7,500 residents at Akotoshie and its 25 surrounding villages in the Ga West Municipality, who, over the past six years, have not been paying bills to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), have been mapped out for payment by June 2013.
The communities were hooked to the national GRID through the Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP) under the Rural Electrification Project, but the residents of these communities had since not been registered to pay for power consumed.
The residents would be required to pay one-third of the amount owed, and the rest spread over an agreed period, according to the General Manager of the ECG, Mr. K. Arthur�Forson.
This came to light when the Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum, John Abdulai Jinapor, paid a day�s working visit on Saturday May 25, 2013, to the Nsawam District office of the ECG in the Ga-West Municipality of Accra to familiarise himself with the ongoing registration exercise of customers within the catchment area.
Briefing the Minister, the Regional General Manager of the ECG, Mr. K. Arthur-Forson, said the problem arose as a result of contractors failing to hand over the project to ECG upon completion, to enable them capture residents for billing.
Mr. Arthur-Forson disclosed that the residents were being educated to appreciate that the SHEP was not absolutely free.
He further assured the Minister that by the end of June 2013, all 7,500 residents would have been mapped out for billing.
Interacting with the staff of ECG after the field visit, the Deputy Minister expressed concern about the delay in capturing the customers, and therefore, demanded that the mapping out exercise be expedited to ensure that the completion date of June was achieved.
John Abdulai Jinapor also reiterated the government�s commitment to ensuring that Ghanaians enjoy secure, reliable and sustainable energy.
To this end, he charged the staff of ECG to give off their best, since they were at the frontline, terms of providing electricity within the power sector.
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