Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, says the ECG is building dockets on those who have stolen power.

According to him, thanks to the Chief Justice, Justice Annin Yeboah’s introduction of the Utility court, cases involving people who are engaging in power theft will be brought before the court for severe sanctions.

He said the ECG will be aiming for full custodial sentences for people engaging in power theft against the current fine regime, arguing that power theft is theft and should attract equal punishment.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he said, “Now with the Chief Justice helping us with the Utility court which will be sitting on Saturdays, we’re piling up the dockets now. What we just decided to do was to forgive and start afresh because you don’t want stories – this happened, that happened – so we’ve forgiven. This exercise will build the docket to go forward.

“We’ll be charging you of stealing. Why should we use bypass? When you bypassed it where did the thing go? When you bypass something you should have been connecting it somewhere to return it, not so? But the person has stolen; he has consumed it with no intention of paying back.”

Currently, the ECG is owed GH₵5.7billion by defaulting companies, private and public customers.

Private manufacturing industries and mining firms are the highest debtors, followed by some government institutions.

In their ongoing revenue mobilisation exercise, the ECG is asking defaulting consumers to pay what is due the company or suffer disconnection.

According to Samuel Mahama, for consumers who have engaged in illegal connections, disconnections would not be the end of the case as they would be arraigned for prosecution.

Meanwhile, he said the ECG’s attorney is being resourced to efficiently carry out this mandate.

“ECG has a prosecutor. He’s a seasoned state attorney. He was with the Attorney-General’s department and then he came here. He’s a seasoned state attorney, a very good lawyer at that. But now we’re at a point where we have to resource the person to bite so that’s where we’ve gotten to as a company because we’ve realized that everybody has decided to take us for a run,” he said.