The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has temporarily suspended power disconnections for post customers who have been hit with unexpectedly high bills following ongoing meter replacement exercise.
Also, a loss of communication in areas where non-smart prepaid meters were replaced with smart prepaid meters recorded debt instead of credit.
The new smart prepaid meters are complaint with ECG’s Meter Management System (MMS).
The billing discrepancies arose after the installation of new prepaid.
Types of meters ECG is placing
ECG is replacing postpaid, non-smart prepaid and faulty meters with new smart prepaid meters which is complaint with ECG’s Meter Management System (MMS).
The meters being replaced are BXC, PNS, Nuri, BOT and Ecash 1, 2, 3, 4.
935,962 meters being replaced
The total number of the meters mentioned above in the system is 935,962.
488,223 meters replaced so far
As at the end of July ECG has replaced 488,223 with the new prepaid smart meters.
PURC guidelines on meter replacement
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) guidelines mandate the replacement of meters every 10 years.
Many of the older meters had already exceeded their lifespan, necessitating the upgrade.
Post paid
ECG discovered that during the migration to these new meters at places where postpaid meters were replaced, the new smart meters recorded a billing error leading to unexpectedly high bills.
ECG’s Director of Communication, Mr. William Boateng, said customers affected by the billing error have been advised to continue paying their previous amounts while the ECG conducts an audit of the new bills.
He explained that once the audit is complete, customers would work with the ECG to agree on a payment plan for any outstanding debt.
Prepaid meters
Mr Boateng, also said in areas where prepaid meters were replaced with new smart meters, a communication error occurred, causing the meters to lose connection with the server.
As a result, these prepaid meters failed to disconnect when customers’ credit ran out, allowing the customers to continue consuming electricity without purchasing additional credit.
This led to the accumulation of significant unpaid bills for prepaid meters.
This caused the new meters to incorrectly record debt instead of credit.
In such cases, Mr. Boateng assured that the situation would be corrected, and any overcharged amounts would be refunded to the affected customers.
These new meters are part of the company’s Loss Reduction Programme (LRP), which aims to improve energy accounting through the installation of more accurate smart meters.
The new smart prepaid meters offer the convenience of remote top-ups via the ECG Power App or by dialing *226#, allowing customers to recharge their meters anytime and anywhere.
However, Mr. Boateng noted that poor internet access in some areas has posed challenges for the installation and functionality of these smart meters.
ECG is working to ensure that all areas equipped with the new meters have adequate internet service to support their operation.
