CR: ECG claws back GH¢4.76 million in losses in 2025
The Central regional office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) reduced system losses amounting to GH¢4.76 million last year.
The exercise, which targeted the identification and closure of systemic loopholes, uncovered 460 customers who were not captured on the company's system, surcharged them and recovered 1.56GWh (gigawatt-hours) of electricity.
This was achieved after the office inspected about 8,805 meters across the region.
"We also removed over 12,000 fake meters from most non-ECG customers who were using power for free.
Speaking at a press Soiree in Cape Coast, the Central Region General Manager of the ECG, Shirley Tamara Asomani-Wiafe, said the region would monitor about 7,000 customers this year, aimed at recovering 5.50GWh, worth about GHȼ6.105 million this year.
She further stated that the regional office of the ECG would improve revenue collection per its assigned targets by monitoring already disconnected and suspended accounts over a long period to ascertain their status and ensure customers paid for electricity consumed.
Ms Asomani-Wiafe also said the power distribution company had over 6,908 new prepaid meter installations, which started in February 2025, while Assin Fosu was onboard, piloting the Loss Reduction Programme and awaiting approval to commence the mass replacement this year.
Network improvement
The ECG Central Region General Manager further stated that the company began some major network improvements across all its operational areas in the region, including commissioning of the Switching Station at Asebu, and the construction of an Express line from Cape Coast to the Assin Fosu Primary Substation to help solve the prolonged under-voltage situation and power stability within the Abura Dunkwa, Assin-Fosu and Twifo-Praso enclave.
Again, she said, through management’s innovations, the capacity constraints and its related under-voltage challenges during peak hours were solved, noting that the Twifo-Praso Township was connected to the Akyempim Bulk Supply Point (BSP) in the Western Region through this initiative.
Also, she said 15 distribution transformers were injected into the region's network in the Cape Coast, Winneba, Kasoa North and Kasoa South districts, with nine transformers upgraded from 100kVA to 200kVA at UCC, Abena Village Amamomoa, Kakraba, Ecowas, Akoninisin, Bethlehem in the Cape Coast, Kasoa North and South districts, at the cost of about GHȼ4,650,000, while some major overhead lines were improved in Agona Swedru, Twifo Praso, Breman Asikuma Winneba and Saltpond.
Ms Asomani-Wiafe said the company also undertook major maintenance on all the company's network assets; implemented the Operation Keep the Lights On (OKLO), with planned and emergency maintenance, vegetation controls, replacements of damaged poles, and “upgrade of undersized conductors on all our overhead lines to improve customer satisfaction”.
"We also undertook system improvement projects and injections, network upgrades to relieve overloaded distribution transformers, improved customer experience with the introduction of the New Franchise System, where meter readers are converted to franchise officers and are tasked to do more than just reading meters and distributing bills but enhance service delivery, customer satisfaction and trust," she added.
Enhancing service
The Maintenance Engineer, Enoch Yaw Asante, said the intermittent light-outs were due to major maintenance, some planned and unplanned, including the changing of transformers and appealed to customers to bear with the company for that period, as it worked to enhance service delivery.
The District Manager for Cape Coast, Ebenezer Sarkwa, stated that the company was constantly working to provide enhanced services for customers.
Media
The media urged the company to constantly communicate activities to customers for clarity.
They also called for enhanced services and to ensure increased distribution of meters to all parts of the region.
As part of the media engagement, the personnel were taken on a tour of the company's Bulk Supply Station in Cape Coast to further explain the system's operations to them.
