The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says a directive by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) that consumers can refuse to pay utility bills accumulated over 12 months can have serious implications for the company. The PURC on Wednesday said consumers of electricity and other utilities are under no obligation to pay for services they enjoy if they are presented with their bills 12 months after they enjoy the utility. The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) issued the instruction saying the utilities, under the guidelines which govern their operations, forfeit all such monies. A statement issued by the PURC names the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Department of the Volta River Authority (VRA) as the two main companies likely to be affected. But the ECG has lashed out at the PURC saying the directive by the Commission is out of place. The Commission said it was compelled to issue this directive because it has observed that the two - ECG and VRA - are slow in demanding payment for services they render. The directive is also in line with Electricity Supply and Distribution Regulation (LI. 1816) of the Commission. Executive Secretary of the PURC, Stephen Adu played down criticisms that its directive is long overdue. He said the Commission has had to engage stakeholders in the utilities sector in negotiations before coming out with the order. “We’ve been discussing this for a while because it affects the public, it affects the consumer,” Mr Adu told Joy FM’s Israel Laryea. “If the consumer is going to be disadvantaged or penalised for whatever reason then we want to be sure that it is done properly or delivered properly.” Meanwhile, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is reeling under a financial stress due to the high default rate by customers nationwide to settle their water bills. Nationwide, GWCL is owed an amount of over GH¢700,000. A third of this amount, according to officials, is owed by government departments and agencies. These debts have resulted in the inability of the water company to replace deteriorated water pipelines, in some areas which have remained in use for as long as 30 years, affecting the quality of water supply. Public Relations Officer at Aqua Vitens Rand, Stanley Martey, said the company is fashioning out a new strategy to recover the accumulated debts. In pursuing this agenda, GWCL is setting up more collection centres and engaging commercial banks around the country in its revenue collection effort. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana