Former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has approved the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) recent directive to board members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The directive mandates these board members to pay a regulatory charge for their oversight of recent power outages without prior notification to consumers.

The PURC has imposed a significant fine of GHS5,868,000 on the ECG board members who served from the beginning of the year until March 18, 2024.

Read also: ECG lied about Transformer overload being responsible for power outages – PURC

This punitive measure stems from their violation of Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413, which stipulates the necessity of prior notification to consumers before any disruption in power supply occurs.

Notable individuals affected by this fine include Keli Gadzekpo, who resigned as Board Chair on March 26, and the current ECG Managing Director, Samuel Dubik Mahama.

The fine impacts both former and current board members who were responsible for overseeing operations during the period in question.

• Read also: ECG board members to cough up GHS5.868m in PURC fine over dumsor

In an interview with Citi FM on Tuesday, April 16, Pru East Member of Parliament, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, emphasised the personal and collective liability of directors in cases involving power outages.

He lauded the PURC's decision, describing it as refreshing and commendable, asserting that such actions serve as a deterrent to others in similar positions.

“For me that is extremely refreshing. Extremely refreshing because I also rank the state enterprises committee of Parliament and good governance has been noticed more by its absence in a number of state-owned enterprises. Board members do not take responsibility for decisions of the entities that they superintend over. And so, I am very excited about that,” he said.