A new system will be put in place to check the stealing of power (illegal connection) should the New Patriotic Party (NPP) be allowed to remain in power for another term, Vice President, Dr. Bawumia has said.
This promise was made by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at the official launch of the NPP’s manifesto held on Saturday, August 22.
Further indicating the government’s plan, Dr. Bawumia said that that the new remote sensing technology will help to reduce the cost of electricity in the country.
“We would also want to reduce the cost of power. This is a major problem for businesses. We have so much in losses from ECG; about 40% of the power that is produced is lost from ECG and also from the transmission. And we’re going to introduce new technology from the ECG perspective. We’ve piloted a new remote sensing technology which is working very beautifully and we’re going to begin implementation. With this remote sensing technology, it will no longer be possible to steal power from ECG and we will make sure we reduce the cost of power for everybody to enjoy,” he stated.
This promise comes as a reiteration of an earlier announcement made by Dr. Bawumia at the launch of ECG’s mobile app in Accra on Tuesday, February 18. According to the Vice President, the power distributor will soon implement a new system to prevent people from engaging in illegal connections.
“This app also enhances [revenue] collection because I’ve been talking to the Board Chairman and the MD that they should really be thinking about applying technology, i.e. artificial intelligence and remote sensors which sounds a bit complicated but it’s very simple in the collection process. I know that they are piloting a system now and by the grace of God if all goes well, we would have implemented a new system starting this year whereby nobody will be able to steal electricity in Ghana again.”
The menace of stealing power through illegal connections has been on the rise for years in the country, leading to an average loss of about 25 percent recorded annually.
In the outfit of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), its annual loss of about 25 percent is equivalent to US$418.2 million.
It is for this reason that the power distributor [ECG] is seeking to reduce its losses to power theft to the barest minimum. Already, it has announced that it will implement a new Meter Management System in October 2020
The US$12 million system is being set up by the Millenium Development Authority (MiDA) for the ECG and will allow customers to buy pre-paid credits anywhere in the country and be credited in real-time.
Additionally, it will help to improve the company’s income mobilization efforts, hence preventing unwanted losses.
