ECG Rewards Informants

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) paid GH¢53,452.56 in seven months to informants in the Greater Accra Region who reported illegal connections by people to the company.

The payment is part of a policy to encourage and reward vigilance and patriotism by Ghanaians, who on suspicion of an illegal connection, make a report to the Revenue Protection Division, Projects Office of the ECG located at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the acting Director of Customer Service, said the ECG usually carried out further checks to establish their veracity before acting on them.

Subsequently, officials compute the loss to the company over the period of the illegal connection and six percent of the value calculated is paid to the informant.He said with the increases in tariffs, there was the possibility that some residents would cheat by directly making connections to their residences without acquiring billing meters and using the appropriate processes.

Mr. Osei, therefore, urged all to be vigilant and be assured of a reward for their vigilance. He, however, cautioned against the abuse of the scheme by those who would use it as an excuse to harass people to enter their residence, as that would not be tolerated by the ECG.The ECG also advised its customers to conserve and save energy in the wake of increase in tariffs.

Mr. Osei who also gave the advice, said conserving energy and the purchasing of energy efficient gadgets would help customers in saving on the amount paid for the use of electricity. He said some people kept gadgets that were not constantly in use on. For instance, some offices had both television set and radios on, while neither was being watched or listened to.

Mr. Osei said that practice needed to be stopped as that was waste of energy. He said buying new gadgets instead of second hand gadgets was in the short and long term not financially prudent and power wise, as efficient new refrigerators tended to consume low units of energy and that translated into less coat for customers.

The Sectional Manager, Technical Investigations (Revenue Protection) of the ECG, Mr. David B. Asamoah, said although the scheme had been in existence for some time now, some thought it was a hoax.
He explained that when informants came in to report, they were given codes in all deliberations, including claims for rewards, and that was to protect their identity. He added that vigilance was needed as illegal connections affected all because they could cause fire outbreaks and the destruction of gadgets.

Source: GNA