ECG replaces meters in Ashanti
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has started replacing all meters, both prepaid and post-paid, in the Ashanti Region with smart prepaid ones.
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Currently, 17 contractors are installing 1,000 meters daily in the Asokwa District, which includes Asokwa, Atonsu, Asafo and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
In all, they are expected to install more than 45,000 meters at Asokwa and its surrounding areas.
Briefing reporters in Kumasi, a Project Manager of ECG, Mr Bernard Pi-Bansah, said the roll out of the programme had become possible after the successful piloting of the meters at Asokwa and its environs.
He said the smart meters had unique features and functions which allowed the ECG to easily detect when they were tampered with or were manipulated in any way.
The meters, he said, would prevent the loss of revenue to the company through fraudulent means.
Mr Pi-Bansah said the meters had been made in such a way as to facilitate the continued enjoyment of power during holidays and at night when credits had been exhausted.
He explained that the feature allowed the customer to have a grace period so they could purchase their credits at their point of sales at a more convenient time.
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Explaining further, the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Manager of the ECG, Mr Erasmus Baidoo, added that the new meter relied on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) systems for monitoring and usage.
Other qualities of the new meters, he said, included cash recharge mode, electronic cards usage, remote reloading facilities and information broadcaster facility.
He said the meters, which were in two components, were made so as to discourage customers from tampering with them.