Government has begun full-scale investigations into circumstances surrounding the burning of over 25,000 new ECG meters in the Ashanti Region.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Energy Minister John Jinapor in an interview with Joy News.

The meters, bought at a cost of some $2 million were said to have been kept at an abandoned warehouse and were reduced to ashes following a severe fire incident that struck days ago.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained even though some suspect arson.

Luv FM's Erastus Asare Donkor who broke the story, reported that the warehouse was an abandoned one.

He said it belonged to one George Kodua and was used as a printing press in the 80s.

While there was some level of activity at the precincts of the warehouse, the inside had seen little activity, Donkor indicated.

He said critics wondered why the ECG decided to use an old abandoned warehouse when it has a number of storehouses to keep the meters.

Sources with the Fire Service told Asare Donkor the fire may have been sparked by batteries embedded in the meters.

The sources claim when the batteries are exposed to hot temperatures they normally explode, something they suspect must have happened in this fire incident.

Asare Donkor said while some of the batteries got burnt completely, others were partially burnt.

The Ashanti Region Public Relations Officer of the ECG Erastus Baidoo told Joy News the warehouse was not an abandoned one.

He explained the warehouse stored other materials he did not readily mention.

According to him, the meters were only going to be kept in the warehouse on a temporary basis but the meters got burnt the same day they were offloaded into the warehouse.

He would not comment on what he claimed to be speculations but said investigations have begun into the matter.

The Deputy Minister of Energy John Jinapor said the Power Ministry is aware of the fire and has also begun a thorough investigation into it.

He said a committee from the fire service conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident and sent a report to the Minister.

It was based on the preliminary report that a full-scale investigation was sanctioned.