The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it is taking realistic measures to address the current power fluctuations in the country. They include upgrading sub-stations in the various regions to accommodate the increasing number of customers. To elicit public support for those measures and further explain its predicament, ECG officials, led by its Accra West Director, Alhaji Daudi Alhassan Jangu, Tuesday met with various key stakeholders in the Accra metropolis. Stakeholders at the meeting, which was to come up with ways to reduce the frequent power outages confronting customers, comprised individuals, companies and other institutions. Addressing the participants, Alhaji Jangu noted that the ECG was facing some challenges which it needed to share with its customers, adding that the company was putting in place programmes to help provide quality and sustainable access to electricity. He assured customers of quality service, adding that the ECG would intensify its strategy of informing the public and main stakeholders when there was going to be a power outage. He pointed out that ECG offices were open for any suggestion which would help to enhance the provision of power and the development of the company as a whole. Alhaji Jangu used the opportunity to caution prepaid power users to be mindful of illegal connections, since anyone caught engaging in such nefarious activities would pay a penalty, failure of which would result in prosecution. During the meeting, some stakeholders complained about problems that confronted them when power outages occurred in their homes or workplaces and appealed to the ECG to give them prior notice. In a related development, the Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA) has expressed worry over the outcome of the investigations into the fire that ravaged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rendering it useless. It said the report of the investigative committee that looked into the incident identified an electrical fault as the cause of the blaze. In a statement signed by its National President, Mr J.B. Walker, the association said the inferno which resulted in the loss of millions of Ghana cedis to the state could happen to other government and private properties in the country if proper steps were not taken to prevent future occurrences. It said as part of measures to stem the incidence of electrical fire outbreaks in the country the GECA was proposing the organisation of seminars to educate both private and commercial maintenance managers and occupants of government buildings. "The association further intends to educate the public on energy conservation and if possible extend same to government organisations," the statement added. It noted that lessons learnt from the aforementioned programmes "will form the basis of regulation and standards to be recommended to the government for consideration in the management of public, commercial and residential electrical installations in the country". The statement said the government's support for the implementation of the proposal would go a long way towards reducing electrical fire outbreaks in the country and also prevent the wasting of public funds to replace property and repair damage done to structures. Source: Daily Graphic