Consumers struggling under ‘unfair’ electricity charges

Malcontent is brewing as a growing number of prepaid customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) are reporting alarming discrepancies in their meter readings, with many suddenly finding themselves saddled with substantial negative balances.

This development has sparked outrage among consumers and raised serious questions about the utility provider’s billing practices and technological infrastructure.

Charles Teye, a 32-year-old operator of a hospitality outlet in Accra, shared his experience: “I bought GH¢400 for a two bed-room apartment I use as Airbnb. I bought it for a client.  Three days later it finished with a negative GH¢50. It happened twice.

“This prompted the client to complain to me bitterly, since they take care of their power once they deplete the complimentary offer.

The last one that broke the camel’s back was one in which the client bought GH¢400 on the prepaid. Within four hours all was depleted.  The client was furious and thought I was cheating him. The meter is allocated to only that apartment. This was in early March this year.”

Another affected customer, Alex Mensah who operates a ‘cold-store’, expressed his frustration: “My meter suddenly showed a negative balance of  GH¢7,800. When I went to the ECG office, they could not explain it – but suggested I pay it off in installments. This is daylight robbery! How can they expect us to pay for their mistakes?” He said he had not ruled out seeking legal redress.

These accounts are not isolated incidents. Social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), have been flooded with similar stories from ECG customers across Ghana reporting unexpected negative balances ranging from hundreds to thousands of cedis.

A user – @Kaff_007 – on the social media platform said: “May Ghana not happen to you…Cos why would you be there and suddenly ur prepaid meter is displaying negative balance of GH¢13,000. U report to ECG and all they say is dey don’t know how it got there but spread it over 3 months”.

Some have suggested that the beleaguered utility service provider is transferring its inefficiencies – which have resulted in mounting losses – to consumers.

ECG’s collection losses skyrocketed to GH¢2.05billion in the first nine months of 2023. However the power distribution company last month said its metering system overhaul between July and August this year uncovered GH¢893million of lost revenue.

Meanwhile, the sector regulator, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), has issued an urgent advisory to electricity consumers amid “significant problems” with meter replacement programmes run by ECG and NEDCO.

To protect themselves, customers are advised to verify the identity of utility personnel, request a copy of the meter replacement notice, monitor meter readings and ensure proper documentation.

Some customers have also described the regulator’s intervention as falling short of a full resolution.

According to Appiah Kusi Adomako, West African Regional Director of CUTS International (Consumer Unity & Trust Society), utilities have not been historically swift in addressing consumer complaints.

When consumers attempt to file complaints about billing irregularities, they face significant hurdles. Mr. Adomako explained that the adjudication process with PURC can take an excruciatingly long time, leading many consumers to lose faith in the system altogether.

“And the process of adjudication between you filing your complaints with the PURC also takes a very long time. And so for this reason, most consumers have even lost faith in PURC,” he said.

To address these issues, the economist and lawyer proposed several solutions. He believes PURC needs to establish a rapid response mechanism, with a maximum of one week to resolve meter-related complaints. Additionally, he suggests that when a consumer claims to have been overbilled they should be granted temporary credit power while the investigation is ongoing.

“I think that PURC needs to have a rapid response rate for consumer complaints when it comes to some of these issues, so that consumers will have faith in the system that when they submit a complaint on a meter issue, in a maximum one week the issue must be resolved,” Mr. Adomako explained.

Failure to address these concerns, Mr. Adomako warned, could lead consumers to find “ways and means to bypass the system and then get access to power” – a scenario that would further destabilise the  already-strained electricity infrastructure.