The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it will replace all post-paid electricity meters within the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with smart prepaid meters.
The ECG estimates that more than 1,600 post-paid meters will be replaced at staff bungalows, commercial facilities and some selected facilities of the university.
Addressing staff, estate officers and managers of commercial concerns within the university as part of a public education prior to the rollout, the Engineer in charge of the ECG Prepaid Metering Project, Mr Godwin Ahorlu, assured the customers of a smooth transition.
He explained that the smart meters were introduced to address the concerns of the customers, saying they have properties that allow customers to borrow credit during late hours and holidays and pay later.
Poor wiring
Reacting to concerns about alleged high consumption levels associated with such smart meters, Mr Ahorlu said research had revealed that a lot of people had poor wiring of their facilities which led to wastage of electricity.
He, therefore, assured customers that the ECG would engage the university about concerns of old wiring of residential buildings.
According to engineers, the smart meters were designed to detect any attempt to steal power, adding that an instant surcharge of 100 per cent would be imposed as penalty when one steals power.
Communications manager
The Communications Manager of the ECG, Mr Erasmus Kyere Baidoo, assured customers that the company had put measures in place to ensure that the exercise went on smoothly.
He encouraged customers to always deal with accredited staff of the company and take official receipts for any transaction involving the payment of cash.
He added that places such as laboratories, hospitals, lecture theatres among other sensitive places would not have the prepaid meters.
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