Parliament to investigate ECG over billing system

The Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho has ordered the Mines and Energy Committee to investigate the recent errors in the billing system of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The service provider has incurred the wrath of a section of the populace over the astronomical increases recorded on bills, despite a 50 per cent sanctioned increment by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission.

On the floor of parliament Tuesday May 24, Majority Chief Whip Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak accused the ECG of undermining President John Mahama’s quest to end the erratic power situation [dumsor] which has bedevilled the country for the past four years.

Although some Members of Parliament suggested the Minister of Power be made to appear before parliament to explain the overbilling, Mr Doe Adjaho said the Mines and Energy Committee had started investigating the matter and should therefore, continue their work.

“The maker of the statement is urging me to invite the Minister responsible for power to brief the house. I have also been informed by the chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of this house that they have started some work. I will rather suggest that the committee continues with that work because of the technical nature of the issue. The Minister can come and brief the house, he will be in the position to give us technical responses to the questions, the issues that will be raised on the floor, and I am directing the committee on Mines and Energy to continue on what they have started and submit a report. I direct the clerk to make available to the committee all necessary logistics for them to carry on this matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho told Class News’ parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan the committee will be meeting the Power Minister and officials of the ECG on Thursday May 26.

“What I know is that a lot of consumers have expressed their frustrations …As a Committee, we have invited the Managing Director and the Deputy Minister of Power to come and brief us because I think that it is not acceptable. If you recollect, about a month or six weeks ago, PURC strongly requested ECG to quickly work on those meters and those found to be faulty must be replaced,” he said.

“I have had the opportunity of speaking to the Managing Director on a number of occasions and he promised that they were working very hard. Instead of it being resolved, we realised that it is rather becoming worse…I cannot rule out people internationally doing that, there may be other mistakes technically and what have you which they promise they are working on, so, Thursday, we will be meeting them and at the end of it all, fortunately, the speaker has given us a lot of power by referring it to us and requesting that every resource that the committee needs to be able to discharge its duty must be made available to us.”