Prepaid meters installed in 80% MMDAs

The Electricity Company of Ghana has installed prepaid meters in 80 per cent of offices belonging to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

The measure, which is a directive by the then Vice-President, John Dramani, in 2010, is to curb the abuse of electricity consumption at the MDAs, while the government takes the necessary action to clear its huge indebtedness to the ECG.

Prior to the exercise, the government's indebtedness to the ECG, which had piled up over the years, stood at GH¢80 million.

The exercise was fiercely resisted by some of the MDAs but the ECG insisted on doing so and by December last year, it had installed 900 meters.

The Daily Graphic’s random check at some of the MDAs indicated that while the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is using both the prepaid and postpaid meters, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Office are yet to have their prepaid meters installed.

While at the Ministry of Energy (MoEN), there was a combination of prepaid meters and solar energy, the Food and Drugs Board and the courts had prepaid meters.

The Director of Customer Service of the ECG, Dr Nicholas Smart-Yeboah, told the Daily Graphic that almost all MDAs in areas where the company had rolled out prepared meters had the meters installed.

The exercise, he stated, had been successful in reducing the high indebtedness among the MDAs.

He said while attempts were being made to ensure that all MDAs had the prepaid meters, some of the MDAs, including the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, would be exempted from the programme as they had devices with high capacities that prepaid meters could not cope with.

According to him, most MDAs in Cape Coast in the Central Region; Ho in the Volta Region and Koforidua in the Eastern Region had prepaid meters but not much had been done in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

Dr Smart-Yeboah also said the company had taken delivery of new prepaid meters that would cater for MDAs that fell in the medium category but which were not currently using the prepaid meter.

The Public Relations Officer of the MoEN, Mr Edward Bawa, observed that ever since the prepaid meters were installed, his outfit’s power consumption had reduced considerably.

He added that the concept of combining solar or renewable energy with prepaid meters would be extended to other ministries.

The PRO also said the ministry was currently experimenting with solar capacity banks as part of a policy to ensure that by 2020, at least 10 per cent of the country would be using solar energy.

At the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, a source who asked not to be named, said even though an assessment had been done, the ministry the prepaid meters had not been installed because of funding problems.

The source said it had been recommended that the two buildings serving as its offices be rewired since it would be too expensive for the ministry to use a single meter.