The government has directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to fix prepaid meters at all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The measure is to curtail the abuse of electricity consumption at the MDAs, while the government takes the necessary action to clear its huge indebtedness to the ECG. The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, made this known at a public hearing on the proposed increment of utility tariffs by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in Accra Tuesday. He said the government's indebtedness to the ECG, which had piled up over the years, currently stood at GH¢80 million and stressed the need to collectively monitor how power was consumed. Mr Mahama said, however, that the government would take steps to ensure that the debt was settled to enable the ECG to function effectively. The forum was organised to solicit the public's views on tariff proposals that had been submitted by the utility agencies, namely, the Volta River Authority (VRA), the ECG, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and the Ghana Water, Company Limited (GWLC), for consideration by the PURC. The Vice-President said the utility sector was faced with a myriad of challenges, noting that with the rapid growth of the economy, the competition for vital investment in utility infrastructure had led to shortages in the supply of electricity and water. He noted that that situation would continue to impact negatively on the country's development agenda unless drastic measures were taken to address the collective failures of several stakeholders over the years. "In spite of these challenges, the utility service providers should endeavour to ensure a reduction in losses which consist of illegal connections, as well as technical and commercial losses," he said. The Vice-President indicated that the utility providers needed to raise their expenditure in order to expand, adding that an additional increment in tariffs should ensure an improvement in the quality of service. He said there was no doubt that consumers of water and electricity desired good quality service, which required adequate pricing, coupled with the needed investment. "These should be in tandem with service standards and strict monitoring of services against performance benchmarks which have been set by the PURC for the utilities," he stressed. Mr Mahama pledged the government’s commitment to provide the necessary resources and a conducive, environment to support both the utility companies and the PURC to move rapidly towards a new era of enhanced efficiency in service delivery and regulation. He explained that as the major shareholder of the utility companies, the government had already indicated that it would demand accountability from its appointees, board members and the management of the companies. "My presence here is to signify the priority which the government attaches to the electricity and water sectors. It is also to enable me to appreciate at firsthand the concerns of the public in the area of utility service provision,'" he said. The Vice-President expressed the hope that the final tariff decision, after all deliberations, would take into consideration the social impact and also the current economic situation in the country adding that "the government will continue to support poor consumers by providing subsidies through lifeline tariff band". The Chairman of the PURC, Dr E. K. Annang, said the PURC was committed to ensuring the development and delivery of the highest quality of utility services to consumers and aimed at achieving efficiency, reliability and equity in the provision of those services. He said the PURC's key tasks were to protect the interest of consumers and providers of utility services, provide guidelines for rates to be charged for the provision of utility services, monitor and enforce standards of performance for the provision of utility services among others. A director at the ECG, Mr Ebow Acquah, said the company needed to provide efficient services for consumers but said some difficulties, such as illegal connections, caused untold hardship to the company. For his part, the Chief Executive of the VRA, Mr Kwaku Awortwe, said 80 per cent of its products went to the ECG, 13 per cent to the mining companies, while five per cent was for export. He said the crude oil used to power the thermal plants was purchased in dollars and the VRA made about $53 million monthly, out of which about $40 million was used to buy crude oil and the remaining for operational expenses. He, therefore, called for the need to increase electricity tariffs to enable the authority to offer the best of services. He said without a substantial tariffs increase, the government would have to support the VRA. Representatives from both GRIDCo and the GWCL explained why it was necessary to increase their tariffs in order for the two companies to provide efficient and quality services for consumers. Some consumers were of the view that before the utility companies could be given the green light to increase their tariffs, they should first address the issue of wastage. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana