The Volta River Authority is warning electricity consumers who have defaulted in honouring their bills to pay up by the end of February or be disconnected. A whopping GH¢250 million revenue is outstanding as debt owed by consumers, and according to the VRA’s Mrs Gertrude Koomson, Director of Corporate Affairs, the situation is pretty distressing. She told Adom FM on Thursday morning that some of the indebted companies are distressed businesses with which the Authority has in the past been talking to and negotiating payment terms, however, seeing little progress, the energy producer has decided from the end of February to disconnect indebted consumers, state institutions included. Mrs. Gertrude Koomson told programme host Ekuorba Gyasi that the situation is also preventing the VRA from running regular maintenance programmes on its equipment and so henceforth, no one will be allowed even a dog chance to sit with the company’s money. She said from the look of things, part of the debt has become a bad one, and should tariffs prove insufficient to support the authority’s energy production activities, it may be forced to suspend energy production from thermal sources since it is a major cost component. Should that happen, the concentration will be on hydro production and while all domestic consumers may get their supplies, industrial and other huge consumers will have to demand for power which would be produced from thermal sources. “And they will pay for it. They will also establish letters of credit, bank guarantees before we produce for them.” She maintained that by the end of February, she maintained, all debtors will have to pay up or be shut down, no matter who was involved. Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana