The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) plans to allocate at least GH₵ 9 million for projects in the Volta and Oti Regions in 2024. The projects will include the upgrade of pole-mounted transformers and the replacement of damaged poles.
These initiatives aim to enhance service delivery in the regions. Christina Jatoe-Kaleo, the General Manager of ECG in the Volta Region, shared information about these projects as part of the company’s efforts to improve its infrastructure and overall power distribution services.
“Some contracts have been signed with contractors who will come in with their resources and capitals, set up some substations and switching stations. They will complete, hand over to us and we will pay them later,” she explained.
She added that the supply of locally produced meters would be extended to her jurisdiction to ensure “faulty meters are replaced, improve new service and separate meter connections”.
One significant innovation was the implementation of a cashless system to address challenges associated with the prepaid system, particularly the long queues at vending centers. The cashless system aimed to streamline the process of purchasing electricity credit for prepaid meters.
However, she cautioned the public about potential scams and impersonation, emphasizing that individuals posing as ECG representatives might take advantage of the cashless system to sell new service meters fraudulently.
“We don’t do that, that is fraud. You will go, use your MoMo account, and pay. We don’t ask customers to pay money [into an individual account] which will be transferred to ECG later. So please help us inform our customers,” she charged the media.
Madam Jatoe-Kaleo advised customers who would be contacted by these fraudsters to alert ECG through the Power App, “and they would be handed over to the security services to track them down.”
She said the year under review saw ECG spending GH₵ 5.5 million on the maintenance of its networks and stations, which included replacing burnt, rotten, and broken poles, clearing bushes under the poles and upgrading some transformers.
The General Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Volta Region, provided additional information on the company’s investments and projects in the Volta and Oti Regions. She mentioned that an amount of GH₵3.2 million was allocated to projects, including the extension and upgrading of feeders in the mentioned regions.
In her appeal to stakeholders, Jatoe-Kaleo emphasized the importance of protecting ECG properties against theft and vandalism. Incidents of people attempting to steal copper components from transformers and other acts of property damage pose challenges for the efficient functioning of the power distribution infrastructure.
“The effect of this is that the outages will be prolonged because it will take some time for us to go and get this material to come and replace them. I don’t know how much they sell it, but the cost of replacing it is so expensive”, she lamented.
She recounted the adverse effects of bushfires on ECG’s networks, where poles are burnt resulting in power outages and loss of revenue.
“The community, the assemblymen, and all stakeholders let us all come together because it costs so much to buy a pole, for instance, the 9-meter pole is about GH₵ 4,000, not to talk about the labor you will hire to dig the hole, erect the pole, draw the lines and you will pay the contractor.
“So, before you finish replacing one pole, at least you are hitting GH₵ 5,000. When it comes to the 11-meter [pole] for the high tension, that is close to GH₵ 6,000 for a single pole, minus the cost of replacing it. So, our plea is that you help us so that our people will stop burning [bushes]. If you cannot stop at all, let us minimize or be careful when we are burning. Let us take notice of the electricity poles”, she appealed.
&w=707&quality=100)
