The Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) have been urged to work more closely together to improve the nation’s electricity supply and distribution, according to the Electricity Company of Ghana.
In an interaction with Municipal Chief Executives and District Chief Executives within the Accra East operational region, Ing. Jonathan Asare, Regional Operational Manager of ECG, made a presentation on behalf of Ing. Bismark Otoo, General Manager of Accra-East ECG.
According to Ing. Asare, it is now essential to provide accurate information and instruction on power distribution and supply.
He also outlined the various roles and strategies undertaken by the ECG to improve power supply within the country as well as measures to curb illegal activities, boost revenue generation and efforts to ensure the company remains viable.
“I want to call on MCEs to especially partner ECG in customer education on the streetlight levy and the need to be vigilant and report vandalism, thefts and damages.”
“It is also vital for MMDAs to assist by providing information on streets, their names and lengths which would form the basis for compiling a more credible streetlight data. This information would also enable the assemblies to promptly assess and provide their streetlight needs,” he noted.
Touching further on other collaborative measures to adopt, the Accra East ECG boss urged MMDCEs to inform the power distribution company in advance before installing streetlights in their various areas.
This, he explained would ensure power lines are not tampered with and are safe for both commercial and industrial use.
“We have to also educate the citizenry on the need for streetlights to be off during the day and I call on MMDAs to invest in capacity building of electrical staff for installation and maintenance of streetlights,” Ing. Otoo added.
Providing some updates on revenue measures to improve the commercial operations of ECG, Ing. Jonathan Asare said it is working assiduously to reduce commercial losses through a number of strategies.
“One popular strategy that has gained more momentum recently is the door-to-door audit of all meter connections for our customers by the special taskforce and the Visibility team. We have also started a pilot project of QR codes for our meters and other installations,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, the MMDAs and DCEs present during the interaction expressed their willingness to form collaborative partnerships with the ECG towards improving the country’s power distribution network.
Present during the interaction with ECG were MMDCE’s and their representatives from various constituencies and areas which include; Ga East, Shai Osudoku, Korle Klottey, Ayawaso North, Ayawaso East, Ayawaso Central, Ayawaso West, La Nkwantanan, Ledzorkuku, La Dadekotopong, Akwapem North, Akwapen South, Okere and Adentan.