Residents of Nyohini protest installation of ‘expensive’ VRA/NEDCO meters

Correspondence from the Northern Region

On Saturday, March 11, hundreds of residents of Nyohini, a suburb of the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region, protested against the new meters the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) installed in their homes, demanding the immediate replacement of all the new meters.

The residents claim the new meters are costly and expensive, hence their call for immediate replacement across the Nyohini community.

The spokesperson of the demonstrators, Abubakari Jamaldeen, told journalists they are forced to pay between GHC25 and GHC37 as service charges each time they make a power purchase.

He claimed that “Power consumers of Nyohini have been subjected to deductions which have no basis, and in some cases, staff of NEDCO/VRA have attempted to explain those deductions as service charges. These service charges, however, consumers have been told are deducted monthly. But our checks and calculations is a telling revelation which we think should be brought to the notice of the media”.

“Our checks reveal that each time we buy power, these service charges apply. Our question here then is, how long will the consumer in Nyohini continue to pay this high service charge which ranges between GH¢25 and as high as GH¢37 in some cases?” Mr Jamaldeen queried.

He said the exorbitant service charges, coupled with other unexplained deductions, have pushed their electricity consumption by over 300 percent, a situation he said the community could not cope with.

Mr. Jamaldeen said initially, a GHC50 power purchase could last residents up to a month, claiming that since the installation of the new meters, they now spend up to GHC350 per month for their electricity.

He noted that, with the current economic hardship, the amount they spend on only electricity was extremely expensive.

“Initially, we could purchase GHC50 worth of power and use it till the end of the month, but current hikes in power tariffs have rendered us confused as we do not know whether NEDCO/VRA in collaboration with the PURC is charging 30% as mentioned in the last tariff increment or 300%. Today, we need to buy up to GHC 350 worth of power for a whole month. This is too high considering the economic situation of our country,” Mr. Jamaldeen noted.

He said, “if these challenges persist without any solutions, our petition here and now is that NEDCO/VRA must immediately replace all our old meters without delay”.

The Power company started installing the new smart-prepaid in parts of the Tamale Metropolis in 2021.

VRA/NEDCo is yet to respond to the allegations.