ECG workers on warpath; Give PURC 7 days to retract directive to suspend new software

Musa Yahaya Jafaru &Salomey Appiah Jun - 07 - 2016 , 08:00

Workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have given the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) a seven-day ultimatum to retract its directive to the ECG to suspend the use of the new billing software.

The workers threatened to withdraw their services if the PURC did not heed their call, as they had faced harassment and intimidation from the public since the announcement of the directive on May 24, 2016.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Monday, the General Secretary of the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), Mr Ato Kwamena Bondzi-Quaye, said the PURC failed to discuss its findings on the billing software with the ECG management before issuing the directive.

PURC reacts

Responding to the concerns of the PUWU, the Director of Public Relations at the PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah, said the directive to the ECG to suspend the new billing software was contingent on the need for the ECG to give consumers value for money.

She said the survey conducted by the commission clearly showed some grave anomalies in the billing system of the ECG.

However, Mr Bondzi-Quaye said PURC action was perceived by the workers of the ECG as very unfortunate and calculated to cause public disaffection towards the company.

“As a result of this directive, workers of the ECG have been exposed to several acts of intimidation, abuse, threats and, in some instances, physical assault.

Ultimatum

“Accordingly, the workers have decided that the PURC, as a matter of urgency, should retract this directive within seven working days with effect from today, else all the frontline staff and field workers will withdraw their services, since the congenial atmosphere required to work is not guaranteed,” Mr Bondzi-Quaye said.

Many customers of the ECG had made complaints about over-billing by the company following the implementation of its new billing system.

Consequently, the PURC conducted investigations into the complaints and on May 24, 2016 it issued a directive ordering the ECG to suspend the implementation of the new billing system until further notice.

A statement by the PURC indicated that after a thorough investigation into the complaints about over-billing through its monitoring exercises, it came to a conclusion that there was an anomaly in the implementation of the billing system using the new software.

The billing software, called the Commercial Management System (CMS), was procured for the ECG under the second phase of a project supervised by the Ministry of Power, with funding from the World Bank.

Billing software is the best

Giving a technical explanation of the billing software, the Secretary of the Central Regional Division of the PUWU, Mr Samuel Martey, said there was no problem with the software.

Therefore, he said, the PURC was wrong in stating that there was an anomaly with the software.

“There is nothing wrong with the software. It is the best that we can get,” he said.

He said it was the introduction of the energy sector levy and the removal of the 25 per cent rebate on electricity that had shot up electricity tariffs for consumers using above 50 units.

“Once you move from 50 units, you are no longer a lifeline customer,” he said.

Government indebtedness

Touching on the government’s indebtedness, Mr Bondzi-Quaye said outstanding government debts owed the ECG, coupled with the continued consumption of power by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), were seriously affecting the revenue generation of the company.

He announced that the ECG would embark on a massive disconnection exercise with effect from June 20, 2016 to retrieve all arrears.

ECG planned privatisation

On the planned privatisation of the ECG, Mr Bondzi-Quaye reiterated the objection and opposition of the workers to the decision, saying “the policy is not the best option to bring reforms to make the ECG more efficient and profitable”.

“We have already articulated our views and suggestions in our position paper to the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) and the Ministry of Power, but we are surprised that the government has allowed foreign interest to still push it to follow this trajectory which, to all intents and purposes, will inure more to the benefit of the foreign investor,” he said.

He said the World Bank, that had over the years championed privatisation did not support the move to privatise the ECG via concession in its 2013 Report on the energy sector.

Outlining the negative impact of the concession, Mr Bondzi-Quaye said there would be high tariffs because of the profit motive of the private investor. He said rural electrification would thus be ignored, while there would be job losses, with their social negative impact on the economy.

He said after 25 years of concession, most of the assets would be obsolete, while the investors, aware of a possible threat to their returns on investment, would pack their belongings and leave.

“There is no example of a real success story of a concession out there in any country, especially in a developing or middle-income country with networks similar to those of the ECG,” he said.

Recommendations

Instead of the concession, Mr Bondzi-Quaye recommended to the government to appoint a dynamic competent leader with a fixed tenure of about five years, with key performance indicators and insulated from political interference.

He urged the government to provide the same conditions promised the private investor to create the enabling environment necessary to make any company to operate efficiently.

Debts owed by the government and municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies (MMDAs), he said, must be paid, while the tariff structure should be reviewed to cover all cost arrears.

He recommended that the government use the year period of the Millennium Challenge Compact to prepare the ECG and list it on the Ghana Stock Exchange, with the government retaining slim or majority or a minority shareholding.

He said funds to invest in the sector to procure modern technology and equipment to eliminate waste in the distribution activities and improve in the networks could be raised from the stock exchange or pension funds.

While justifying the action of the PURC, Nana Jantuah said over the years, the PURC had granted tariff increases to utility companies when the increases were justified.

However, she said it was important to protect the interest of consumers because the bills exceeded the tariff adjustment granted by the PURC last year.

She said the issue at stake now was not about the quantum of tariff increases but had everything to do with the implementation of the billing system using the new software.

Nana Jantuah said it was the expectation of the PURC that the ECG would correct the anomalies and give consumers value for money.