Volta: ECG to disconnect customers after PURC approved 14-day grace period

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has issued a warning to its customers that they have 14 days to pay their current bills or face disconnection.

The Acting Volta Regional General Manager, Ing. Michael Buabin, made this known at a media briefing following the company’s one-month national revenue mobilization exercise which saw it recoup over 40 million Ghana Cedis in Volta and parts of Oti Regions.

According to Mr. Buabin, customers who fail to pay their bills within the 14-day grace period will be disconnected as stated in the PURC Regulation LI 2413.

Ing. Buabin also stated that ECG does not take delight in disconnecting customers as the more a customer consumes power, the more the company makes money.

“Disconnection is only carried out as a last resort to prevent the customer from accruing more debt and to enable the company to gather more revenue to keep the electricity supply chain running” he noted.

He said customers who have received their March bills between the 1st and 10th of April, are due for disconnection if they do not pay up as of April 24.

He added that “the disconnection may not necessarily be due to the current bill, but due to previous arrears as stated in the three columns at the bottom of the bill, namely; CURRENT BILL, PREVIOUS BALANCE, and AMOUNT PAYABLE, Customers are urged to pay the figure stated at the AMOUNT PAYABLE column of their bill to avoid indebtedness”.

During the recent revenue mobilization exercise, ECG noticed that regular payments are not made by its customers, resulting in an increasing debt profile.

The company thus pledged to sustain its revenue mobilization efforts by carrying out the exercise during the last week of every month.

Mr Buabin added that customers who do not receive their bills are enjoined to pay on account, as stipulated in the PURC Regulation LI 2413.

The Volta Regional Revenue Protection Manager, Mr. Ruforson Ernest Ativui, appealed to customers to desist from illegal connections and to allow ECG staff access to their meters, adding that preventing staff from accessing meters hinders smooth operations.

The Volta Regional Commercial Manager, Mr. Abrefah Besea, announced that customers can pay their bills using the ECG PowerApp, USSD shortcode *226#, or at any bank.