Many Prepaid consumers on E-cash and PNS metering systems of the Electricity Company of Ghana in Koforidua the Eastern Regional capital are still struggling to recharge prepaid credit to enable them to have access to electrical power.
The prepaid system has been down since Monday, September 26, 2022.
There is power available but many consumers on the prepaid system are unable to recharge due to the challenge plunging many into darkness and crippling businesses.
Hundreds of customers in Koforidua the Eastern Regional capital have been queuing for days at the ECG district, Regional offices, and four other designated centers to buy electricity but the system is not functioning to maximum efficiency.
Some of the affected customers operating the cold store, corn mill, and other critical businesses say ECG must allow meter bypass and estimate bills for them to pay so that they don’t run at losses as businesses.
“ECG must consider Meter Bypass to connect those of us doing businesses because for the past four days we don’t have power so my corn mill business is collapsing. Businesses have been grounded. They should find an alternate way to give us power and estimate the bills for us to pay” a customer told Starr News in one of the queues at the Koforidua district office.
“I run the cold store; all the fish and meat in the cold store are going bad because for the past five days I don’t have power. We have been in the queue for many days but they say the MBH network is still down so we can’t have the power I appeal to Akufo Addo to do something about it. If this system is going to be like these they should revert to the old system” another customer said.
“For the past four days, I have been in darkness. Every company in the states they all have a backup plan when a Light goes off right now they have a backup plan. So they have to be a backup to reconnect the mass to be able to have power”.
However, Ing. Alexander Yeboah -Asuamah, Koforidua District Manager of ECG said, the system is improving in the last few days. He said six centers have been designated to serve customers whilst staff on leave was recalled to help contain the pressure.
He said six thousand (6000) customers were for instance served on Thursday from 7:00am to 10:00pm in Koforidua.
“We have designated six centers-here the main office. Even the main office here we have about seven tellers, we have some at GBC, Effiduase then the Regional office. We have activated all these centers and tellers are in the boxes working. We will serve everybody”.
He continued that “We are up to the challenge. We know it is a system failure but we are not sleeping. Yesterday for instance we served more than 6,000 customers and we closed from here around 10:30 pm. This morning they started selling before 7:30 am so until the last customer leaves we will not leave.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced the extension of working hours at all district offices across the country this weekend.
This follows the technical challenge affecting smooth service provision to prepaid customers in some operational areas of the country.
The state-power distributor in a statement said its district offices will operate from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm, on both Saturday, 1st October and Sunday, 2nd October 2022.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
