The Volta River Authority (VRA) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) on Tuesday afternoon, disconnected the Bolgatanga Technical University from electricity supply over GH₵1 million debt owed by the university.

In line with the nationwide exercise ongoing to retrieve debts owed to the electricity companies, VRA/NEDCo has begun its own exercise in the Upper East Region and North East Regions.

Billing and Revenue Protection Officer at VRA/NEDCo, Ing William Kwame Asare who has been explaining the decision to disconnect the Bolgatanga technical university from the national electricity grid said
the university authority was engaged by VRA/NEDCo to look at the issue of their indebtedness but the university failed to make a substantial payment after the engagement.

“As of February [2023], their indebtedness was GH₵1,083,215 and it appears that as of this morning, they had gone to pay GH₵50,000 out of the total amount, which is woefully inadequate”, he said.

Also disconnected from the electricity supply was the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College which owed over GH₵800,000 in unpaid electricity bills.

Ing Asare said the college owed GH₵878,000 hence the reason for the disconnection to their electricity supply.

The principal of the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College, William Sebil has been pleading for consideration, explaining that the students are currently writing their exams.

“These are students and so we thought that there should be a consideration for us to come and discuss the way forward because we had some challenges [in paying up the debt”, he said.

Of the national debt owed to the electricity companies, the Upper East and North East Regions alone owe VRA/NEDCo GH₵125 million.

Upper East Area Manager for VRA/NEDCo, Ing Eugene who has been briefing the media on the exercise of the unpaid electricity bills said: "it is having a negative toll on their operations and they were leaving no stone unturned in their effort to mobilise revenue."