PURC resolves 96.40% complaints in Eastern Region
The Eastern Regional Office of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), in 2025, successfully resolved 96.40 per cent of the 1,253 complaints lodged between January and November.
The majority of the complaints were against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which accounted for 83.60 per cent, followed by Ghana Water Limited (GWL) at 15.20 per cent, with consumers accounting for 0.20 per cent.
At a media engagement in Koforidua, the Regional Manager of the PURC, Kesewaa Apenteng-Addo, said the dominant complaint was the quality of service, accounting for 84.60 per cent of all cases, including power outages, phase-offs, no flows, voltage fluctuations, pipe bursts, and pipe leaks.
She stated that consumers primarily use electronic media, specifically WhatsApp, to lodge their concerns, accounting for 74 per cent of all complaints.
Overbilling
Mrs Apenteng-Addo told the media that within the period, the office addressed over billing complaints resulting in a refund of GH₵29,171.46 credited to 14 consumers while replacing damaged infrastructure, including 13 electric poles, two transformers and 11 meters, all at a cost of GH₵139,167.97.
She also indicated that her office restored the water supply to residents of Odumase-Krobo after a six-month shortage caused by road construction.
Mrs Apenteng-Addo added that during the period, 1,086 consumers in 44 communities and 11 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were interviewed to assess service delivery quality.
She explained that the monitoring exercise identified instances of poor service delivery, which were promptly reported to the respective service providers for redress.
Legal mandate
The PURC Regional Manager further told the gathering that under the PURC legal mandate, the regional office oversees two Consumer Service Committees (CSCs) in remote communities of Donkorkrom and Maame Krobo in the Afram Plains North and South Districts, respectively.
The committees, which were in areas about 322km from the regional office, Mrs Apenteng-Addo indicated, acted as liaisons between consumers and utility providers in the region.
She further stated that during the period, the CSCs conducted public education and complaint clinics across 15 communities to build trust and encourage consumers to submit unresolved issues, resulting in 31 complaints being recorded for resolution.
Pro-poor water systems
Apart from that, the PURC regional manager said the commission had also handed over four mechanised pro-poor water projects, such as boreholes with storage tanks and pumps, to communities at Takorase, Nyanoa, Kumikrom, Amanfrom and Essaso in the Upper West Akim District.
These mechanised boreholes, Mrs Apenteng-Addo explained, were designed to provide beneficiary communities with safe and potable water as part of the commission's quest to ensure potable water supply to remote communities facing challenges in accessing safe drinking water.
She, therefore, appealed to residents in the region to direct all their concerns regarding the ECG and the GWL to the PURC for redress.
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