The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has asked customers affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage, which caused power outages, to have their premises examined and verified by verified Electrical Wiring Personnel (CEWP) and Energy Commission of Ghana-accredited inspectors.
This step is in response to reports from impacted areas that, despite widespread power restoration, there are still isolated occurrences of outages owing to internal wiring difficulties caused by floodwater damage.
ECG underlines the ambiguity around the level of damage and encourages impacted customers to use CEWP and Energy Commission-accredited inspectors to check and certify their properties.
The reports submitted by these people will be used to restore the power supply.
Customers have also expressed concerns about receiving power bills for the flood period even while they were not at home. ECG recommends impacted consumers to look at their power bills both before and after the floods.
Sakyiwaa Mensah, the Tema region’s spokeswoman, said that community leaders are working together to create a list of flooded properties and analyze the effect.
Ms. Sakyiwaa explained that management has yet to decide on expenses incurred during the flooding period for impacted clients.
“It has come to our notice that some customers in areas that were affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage are complaining of receiving bills from the Electricity Company of Ghana even though they were not in their residences at the time. It is worth noting that ECG bills come with levies and service charges even when the actual consumption of electricity is not happening.
“However, the management of ECG is yet to take a decision on this and in due course, it will be communicated to all affected customers. But it is worthy to note that if a customer was owing ECG before the incidence of the flood, that debt should be paid.”
She added, “We have restored power to the areas affected however there are some individual homes that still do not have supply. Now this is because the water went into some of their pipes affecting their wiring so we are not sure of the integrity of these installations.
“Now we are advising the customers to please contact Energy Certified Electricians to check on the integrity of these installations in their homes.”
