According to reports, utility service providers have given consumers GHS1,297,118.17 in total as compensation for the first half of 2023.
The amount paid by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Northern Electricity Company (NEDCo), and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) included GHS1,299,118.17 in the form of an adjustment for billing issues and GHS5,000 in the form of compensation for harm done to customers between January and June 2023.
Together, ECG, NEDCo, and GWCL paid GHS522,749.74 and 769,368.43 in customer adjustments as a result of billing issues during the first half of 2023.
For compensation for damage to energy users’ properties, ECG and NEDCo each gave GHS5,000, while GWCL made no such payment.
Within the same time frame, the three utility service providers recovered GHS621,742.65 in income from users.
Speaking on the subject, Dr. Abukari Jabaru, Director, Regional Operations, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), stated the situation required “more diligence” from the utilities.
He added that “The staff of the utility service providers must also check if the people are owing to avoid billing them wrongly.”
Between January and June 2023, 510 instances submitted by consumers of ECG, NEDCo, and GWCL remained unresolved, according to data given by the Commission.
3,546 complaints were made against ECG in total, 3,374 of which were settled. In the first half of 2023, no lawsuits were brought against the water utility in the Northern, Upper West, Upper East, or Bono areas.
Customers filed 2,460 complaints with NEDCo, and 2,300 of them were addressed.
Customers of NEDCo in other regions of the nation did not file any complaints throughout the evaluation period. 1,302 consumer complaints were made against GWCL, and 921 of them were handled.
In order to improve their skills in covering legislative and policy matters, the Commission hosted a day-long training session in Accra for a select group of journalists participating in its media fellowship program.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Emmanuel Fiati, Director, Water Services and Performance Monitoring, PURC, stated that the periodic exercise for journalists was a component of the regulatory body’s efforts to uphold openness, accountability, and good corporate governance.
