The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) has disconnected power supply to the Ghana Water Company’s Northern Regional Treatment Plant at Dalun over non-payment of bills.
According to NEDCo, the water company owes over GH¢39 million in electricity bills. The Dalun water treatment plant supplies water to residents in Tamale and its environs. This disconnection could result in a water crisis in the coming days if power is not immediately restored to the treatment plant.
Speaking on the issue, the Area Manager for NEDCo, Elvis Denuyakor, stated that the action is necessary to enable the company to retrieve debts owed to it to enable it to stay in operation.
“As part of our revenue mobilization exercise which we started somewhere last month, we needed to visit some state institutions to demand payments and we did that and we were not hearing anything from the Ghana Water Company and that is why we came here this morning to engage them but they couldn’t tell us anything and that is why we took them off the grid…”
Elvis Denuyakor
Imminent water shortage due to disconnection
Mr Denuyakor stated that as of April 2023, the total bill of GWCL was about GH¢39 million. However, he stated that his outfit is yet to process the new bill to ascertain the actual monies owed.
“… we know that when the new bill is done, it will take the net bill to over GH¢40 million plus.”
Elvis Denuyakor
The Dalun Water Treatment Plant supplies water to residents in Tamale. In light of the impact of the disconnection which could lead to water crisis in the coming days if power is not immediately restored to the treatment plant, residents in Tamale will have to endure the already operating water rationing schedule.
Meanwhile, management of GWCL in the Region says the head office in Accra is dealing with the situation.
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) in the Upper East Region in May indicated that it was able to mobilize GHC5.8 million from its ongoing revenue mobilization. Between April 18 to April 21, 2023, VRA/NEDCo embarked on a revenue mobilization exercise.
In a similar vein, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Northern Region expressed the need to intensify its revenue mobilization exercise to retrieve all debts owed to the company.
Currently, the company is owed GHC45.7 million by consumers in the region. Out of the amount, 90 per cent of the debts are owed by domestic consumers while 10 per cent are owed by commercial users.
The move from GWCL followed the disconnection of the power supply to its sub-station in Yendi by the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) over non-payment of bills. It currently owes NEDCo an amount of GHC62 million, resulting in the power distribution company threatening to cut the power supply to the Dalun water treatment plant which supplies water to residents in Tamale and its environs.
During the exercise, members of the revenue mobilization task force, led by the Northern Regional Chief Manager of GWCL, Stephen Amihere-Mensah, visited several institutions and households to retrieve the debts. While some customers paid their debts to avoid disconnection, others outlined plans for payment of the debts.
Reacting to this, Mr Amihere-Mensah stated that the exercise was necessary, as it would enable the company to retrieve all its debts. He explained that customers who would be disconnected would only be reconnected if they were able to make full payment of debts owed to the company.
In April this year, the power distributor began a mass revenue mobilization drive to retrieve some GH¢1.2 billion owed the company. The Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale, St Annes Hospital in Damongo, and the Wa Government Hospital were all affected.
