ECG cuts power supply to over 50 homes in Shama due to illegal connection

Over 50 houses in the Shama District of the Western Region have had their power supply cut for allegedly engaging in illegal connection.

A monitoring and disconnection team from the Sekondi District office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) also discovered that a significant number of the residents had their meters blank and have been enjoying free electricity, in some instances, for more than a year.

The discovery forms part of an exercise by Revenue Protection Taskforce of the ECG in its operational areas to check the integrity of meters and service cables at customer premises to unearth any illegality.

It also forms part of ECG’s drive against commercial losses.

The team on Friday October 29 took the exercise to the Shama District which has been identified as a commercial loss prone area.

From one house to the other, the team discovered several cases of illegal connections. In this particular house, a tenant had engaged in a bypass and for months was enjoying free power. In other instances, some households had reconnected their power after a similar mass disconnection exercise.

The team came across another illegal connection where the culprit was using the power for commercial purposes. At another house, a staff of the Volta River Authority (VRA) Aboadze had coiled three 2.5 mm cables and was tapping power illegally.

Sekondi District Manager of ECG Noah Dake in an interview said all the culprits will be given a two-day window to settle all bills or face prosecution.

The team also discovered a significant number of residents who had their meters blank.

The owner of this meter told the news team that eight months ago she reported the problem to the Sekondi ECG Office but nothing has been done about it.

She has since been enjoying free power supply. Mr. Dake admitted that ECG is aware of these challenges and is addressing them case by case.

The exercise will be repeated in all other commercial loss prone areas every month aside the company’s regular premise inspections.