The newly-appointed Managing Director for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Kwame Agyemang-Budu says his administration will transform the power distribution company by ensuring expenditure reduction, power supply reliability, improved revenue collection and efficient customer service delivery.
He stated that technical and commercial loss reduction will also be of cardinal focus in his administration.
This, he said, would be done through the intensification of bush clearing activities, system maintenance and improvement works, line patrols, capturing of uncaptured meters, measures to significantly reduce illegal connection, among others.
Mr Agyemang-Budu, who was the Deputy Managing Director of ECG in-charge of customer service before his elevation, urged the staff of the company to ensure that the private sector work ethics, which were exhibited during the company’s takeover by the Power Distribution Services (PDS), be sustained and improved to reflect the abilities of staff to transform the company.
Commenting on expenditure reduction, Mr Agyemang-Budu underscored the need to enhance on project assessment, which, according to him, must bring value for money.
He emphasised that this would be achieved only by ensuring due diligence and the pursuance of standard procurement practices.
He bemoaned the sorry state of ECG’s revenue fortunes but promised to institute awards and incentives for staff who work to improve the situation.
He also expressed his commitment to providing logistics needed to realise the company’s revenue targets.
The Managing Director also touched on customer service and stressed that service delivery would be greatly improved in his two-year plan through the introduction of best business practices, continuous penetration of smart meters, amongst others.
Mr Agyemang-Budu said he had rescheduled non-critical planned maintenance works in order to ensure that there is regular supply of power during the Christmas festivities.
He added that fault intervention team has been well-resourced and assured stakeholders and Ghanaians of ECG’s commitment to regular supply of power in the distribution services.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com about his recent tour of ECG’s operation regions, Mr Agyeman-Budu said the tour gave him the opportunity to interact with staff to bring before them his vision for the company.
The tour, which started on November 18, 2019, took the form of regional durbars where staff of the company were afforded the opportunity to raise their concerns and grievances to the MD.
The staff requested logistics and also urged for the reduction of political interference in the day to day activities of the ECG.
They were of the view that the absence of political interference or its minimisation would empower them perform better and propel the company to an enviable level.
To that end, leadership of the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) pledged their support to the new ECG boss and expressed their commitment to help improve the company’s corporate culture and bottom line.