Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, has announced plans for an independent investigation into complaints of alleged overbilling and faulty electricity meters in some communities in the Volta Region.
He said the investigation would be conducted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and the Energy Commission, following complaints raised by residents against the power distribution company.
Dr Jinapor announced this during the launch and sensitisation of the Turnkey Electrification Project under the Rural Electricity Acceleration and Urban Intensification Initiative in Ho on Friday.
He said while consumers were required to pay their electricity bills, they must also be assured that the bills presented to them were accurate and fair.
“I am not saying that you should not pay your bills; you must pay your bills. But we want you to pay the right bills,” he said.
The Minister said allegations of overbilling must be thoroughly investigated to ensure that customers were treated fairly and that any irregularities in the billing system were addressed.
Dr Jinapor said he would work with Mr Eric Edem Agbana, a member of the ECG Board, to facilitate the independent investigation into the complaints.
“We will send a team from the PURC, not ECG, because the complaint is against ECG, and we cannot ask ECG to come and investigate itself. We need an independent body,” he said.
He said the PURC and the Energy Commission would conduct a thorough investigation into the complaints, including examining allegations of faulty electricity meters and inaccurate billing.
Dr Jinapor assured residents that where investigations established that meters were faulty, appropriate steps would be taken to replace them.
He added that customers found to have overpaid would be appropriately credited to enable them to recover the excess payments over time.
The Minister, however, urged residents to allow the independent investigation to be completed and to accept its outcome.
“I do not know what the outcome will be yet, but when we conduct an independent investigation, I want to plead with you to accept the results,” he said.
Dr Jinapor said the objective of the exercise was to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability in addressing the concerns of electricity consumers in the Region.
He said all parties would be expected to implement the recommendations arising from the investigation once the findings were made available.
Source | ghanabusinessnews
