The Ashanti West Region unit of the Electricity Company of Ghana is piloting its flagship ‘Loss Reduction Project (LRP)’ in Brofoyedru, a suburb of the Atwima Kwanwoma Municipality in the Ashanti region.

The power distribution company commenced the installation of 100 new smart prepaid devices, comprising 90 single-phase meters and 10 three-phase meters, in May 2025.

According to the power distributor, the pilot project is expected to last for two months, and if successful, will be rolled out in all towns under the Ahenema Kokoben operational district.

Addressing the media, ECG Ashanti West General Manager, Ing. George Amoah, explained that the Ahenema Kokoben district, together with five other districts within its operational areas, already had one smart prepaid meter. But through the new project, a dedicated smart prepaid meter has been introduced for the Ahenema Kokoben District alone.

This is to ensure the company meets the growing demand of customers in the developing residential and industrial enclave.

“Ahenema Kokoben District is one of our biggest districts in terms of customer population with over 50,000 customers and we even expect the number to hit between 80,000 and 100,000 by next year with our load forecast; so there’s the need to ensure we get a dedicated smart prepaid meter to ensure we meet the demands of our customers since development in Greater Kumasi is moving towards that enclave,” he said.

According to the ECG, some of the benefits of the new smart prepaid meter include:

1. Convenience for customers to recharge their meter anytime and anywhere via the ECG PowerApp or shortcode *226#.
2. ⁠The meter also has a User Interface Unit that allows customers to get real time information in the comfort of their homes on energy used and purchased.
3. ⁠The smart prepaid meters are compliant with the new Meter Management System (MMS) which allows customers to purchase prepaid credit from any vendor across all ECG operational Regions irrespective of their location with the help of their STS number which is written on the meter.
4. ⁠The smart prepaid meter also allows the company to monitor the meters remotely, and identify any interference or illegality when the meters are tampered with.

Under the pilot project, customers with non-smart prepaid meters, faulty prepaid meters and some postpaid meters had their meters replaced at no cost.

The company says it is keenly monitoring the meters to ensure successful implementation of the pilot project for mass roll out to the over 50,000 customers in the district.

Ing. Amoah also assured that customers who had prepaid credit on their meters before the replacement would receive their credits on the new meter.

“We have also educated our customers on how to use the new meter and formed a WhatsApp platform to constantly receive feedback and address customer complaints in addition to constant field visits”, he stated.

Ing. George Amoah added that the meter records every activity and we can see it from our office, including tampering with the meter.

“When you try tampering with the meter, the meter will go off and you cannot buy credit to recharge your meter until you come to our office. When apprehended, you will be surcharged,” he warned.

Ing. Amoah concluded by calling on the public to act as whistleblowers to help ECG curb illegal connections by reporting people who would engage in any illegality at any ECG office.

“There is a 6% commission of any amount we recoup as an incentive for anyone who gives us reliable information to unearth any illegality,” he added.

He expressed optimism in providing adequate meters to customers applying for new meters and those with faulty ones, following the project’s successful completion.

“As we speak, we have cleared all 2024 backlog of customers who applied for meters in our six LRP Districts; namely Adum, Ahinsan, Danyame, Kokoben, Abuakwa and Suame, and have started replacing faulty and old prepaid meters to reduce our losses,” he revealed.

Mr. Rudolph Ahiekpor, Project Manager, cautioned the general public to avoid touching or tampering with installation equipment, and report any safety concerns or hazards to the installation team.

The ECG in the Ashanti West Region has eight districts, namely: Adum, Ahinsan, Danyame, Kokoben, Abuakwa, Suame, Offinso and Bibiani.