ECG and Police crack down on illegal power connections in Pokuase

The Amasaman Divisional Police Command has apprehended Kofi Mensah, a 40-year-old trader, for power theft and unauthorized reconnection to the national grid after being disconnected by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Ltd. due to illegal connections.

Kingsley Opoku, the ECG Amasaman District Manager, explained to the media that during a routine monitoring exercise, field staff detected an unauthorized meter

Read full articleat "Nii Aryee," a suburb of Pokuase. Upon investigation, it was found that the meter had been illegally moved from another district. Consequently, the customer was disconnected and advised to visit the ECG office to regularize his account.

However, instead of complying, the customer repeatedly reconnected himself to the grid illegally. Opoku reported, "Whenever he was disconnected, the customer would reconnect himself without consulting the company."

The situation escalated when it was discovered that the customer had directly connected his premises to the low-voltage community cables using a cable, and had also extended this illegal supply to other customers in the area.

Opoku emphasized that these actions not only endangered the suspect and others but also caused technical issues with the community transformer. The suspect initially resisted the company's disconnection efforts, prompting police involvement to ensure the disconnection was enforced.

Emmanuel Akinie, the ECG Accra West General Manager, warned customers against tampering with the company’s distribution network. He stressed that such activities are hazardous and can result in fire outbreaks and property damage.

“We are continuously updating our strategies to identify, surcharge, and prosecute individuals involved in power theft or other illegal activities that impact our system,” he stated.

The Accra West region includes eight operational districts: Ablekuma, Achimota, Amasaman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korlebu, and Nsawam.