ECG sensitises public to new metering system

The Tema Regional Office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has organised a workshop in Tema to sensitise its Special Load Tariff (SLT) customers to a new web-based metering and billing system.

The Automatic Remote Meter Reading (AMR) is a system aimed at ensuring effective metering management. The one-day workshop was to provide more details on the system to a cross-section of SLT customers in the industrial hub.

The AMR seeks to improve the integrity of the metering and billing system of the SLT customers of ECG.

The General Manager of ECG in charge of Metering and Technical Services, Mrs Sariel Etwire, told the Daily Graphic that the AMR was an internet-based application which came with a technological format to help customers directly connect to their meters wherever they found themselves, by logging on to their dashboard and entering their nine-digit meter numbers together with their access codes.

Monitoring

She explained that the AMR system ensured effective monitoring by detecting metering anomalies, reducing operational costs and commercial losses, while providing the ECG access to better supervision of metering systems.

The AMR also generates and provides quick access to tonnes of metering data.

Mrs Etwire noted that the introduction of the service about two years ago had helped the ECG to improve metering accuracy and promoted accurate bills. She, therefore, called on customers who had not signed on to do so to help them to reduce wastage in the system and minimise cost.

The AMR is currently targeted at SLT clients because although they constitute less than one per cent of ECG clientele, they contribute about 30 per cent to revenues.

Mrs Etwire said the AMR project would, in the future, be extended to cover residential and non-residential clients.

Customer engagement

The Tema Regional Manager of ECG, Mr Jones Ofori Addo, said ECG was more customer focused now and would continue to engage clients to help the utility provider deliver efficient services.

Some of the participants expressed their satisfaction with the insight and said they were hopeful that the lessons would go a long way to help them control their electricity bills, as well as cut their operational and production costs.

Writer’s email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh