The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has rejected claims suggesting that its personnel are responsible for a recent fire outbreak at a residential facility at Two-Streams, a suburb of Koforidua following a disconnection exercise.
The cause of the incident, which has raised concerns among residents about public safety and accountability is yet to be determined.
However, the company, has in a statement signed by Mr. Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, General Manager, External Communications, ECG, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, debunked the allegations as “completely false and must be ignored.”
It explained that that ECG postpaid customer in question owed the company to the tune of 6,519.38 Ghana cedis since September 2024 and had been disconnected for non-payment of bills.
According to the statement on January 24, 2025, as part of the ongoing revenue mobilization exercise dubbed “Operation Keep the Lights On,” the ECG team visited the customer’s facility and discovered an illegal self-reconnection by the customer, and the team decided to disconnect the customer for illegality.
The customer resisted the disconnection exercise and threatened the ECG staff with a machete.
Per the statement, sensing danger, the ECG staff called for Police assistance, and in the presence of the Police, the ECG team disconnected the facility directly from the pole outside the facility.
The fire outbreak, according to the reports, occurred later in the day, hours after our team had left the area of the incident.
“ECG wishes to state categorically that disconnection of power supply directly from a pole totally curtails electricity supply to the affected premises and cannot by any means result in a fire outbreak.”
Thus, the customer’s allegation against ECG was completely false, it said, adding that “disconnection has been part of our operations, backed by law, to ensure that recalcitrant customers pay for the electricity they consume.”
The power distribution company assured the public that as a customer-centric company, ECG would not engage in any act that would endanger the lives and property of its cherished customers.
“We also take this opportunity to strongly advise customers to pay their electricity bills promptly and desist from indulging in any form of illegal connection, since it is criminal, and has legal consequences,” the statement said.
GNA