ECG is undermining Ghana’s industrialization agenda with exorbitant service charges – GECA
The Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA) has bemoaned the exorbitant service charges by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which is mitigating Ghana’s effort towards industrialization and ECG’s own revenue drive.
The electrical contractors in a petition to ECG are calling for a review of the policies on rechargeable jobs such as; the high cost of capital contribution required from customers, and the GHS10,000 non-refundable upfront payment from service applicants. They also want ECG to allow customers to purchase materials from suppliers of their choice instead of forcing them to buy from ECG at exorbitant prices.
“Today, if per the sheer size of your load you need a dedicated transformer or have a premises that require a very good quality electricity, ECG will have to come to your premises to make an assessment but even before they embark on such journey to your premises, they charge you a Ten Thousand Cedis non-refundable fee” the GECA President, Awal Mohammed Sakib explained in an interview with Johnny Hughes on the 3FM Sunrise Morning Show.
According to the electrical contractors, they find it very worrying that in most instances the power distributor does not allow the customer to buy the materials but rather bill the customer for what ECG should have provided though the customers are compelled by the circumstances to volunteer to buy the materials because ECG may appear incapacitated.
“Under normal circumstances ECG is supposed to provide the customer with the network and service so that at the end of the month bill us to pay for the service enjoyed. Granted that EC does not have the capacity, so customers have taken upon themselves in that regard, there are some components that are worrying in the total cost like; 3.5% of total material cost, 15% company charges and 10% contingency”.
GECA is hereby questioning why after being charged a GHS10,000 for assessment of customer’s premises to ensure due diligence, ECG again charges another astronomic 10% contingent cost though there aren’t many contingencies with the kind of service being provided.
Mr. Awal Sakib mentioned that some of the contingencies cost as much as GHC50,000 depending on the cost of materials in addition to the cost of the key components and other items.
“There are instances where people have started projects and didn’t expect these costs but suddenly got hit by this unexpected cost which forced them to abandon or suspend their projects. Imagine if the person took a bank loan to embark on the project to produce and pay back the loan but got to the power acquisition stage and is hit with this huge unplanned cost which throws him off budget,” he added.
The group observes that the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) also provides similar services to customers at a far lower rate and affords them the opportunity to procure their own materials.
“As a matter of urgency, we call on you to suspend the policy and call an emergency stakeholder engagement to find ways to address the issue. This we are confident will ease the burden on prospective investors and help you improve your bottom-line and reduce the teething unemployment in Ghana” the petition concluded.
The Association is however yet to receive any response from the ECG and other stakeholders on their petition.
By Samuel Afriyie Owusu|3news.com|Ghana
