The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region, Republic of Ghana, has locked up five big coldstores at Asafo Market, in Kumasi for engaging in illegal electricity connection.
The illegal act was detected during a night to dawn swoop by a combined team comprising police personnel and the Revenue Protection Unit of the ECG, Ashanti SBU, last night.
Illegal electricity connection is rampant in the West African country.
In 2017, Ashanti Region topped the regions where illegal connection was rampant.
ECG examined about 534,121 metres across its operational areas namely Ashanti, Western, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta Regions.
Per the regional distribution of illegal connections, Ashanti Region topped with a figure of 7,943, followed by Eastern Region with 3,377.
Tema recorded 2,487 while Accra West and Central Region recorded 1,874 and 1,134 respectively.
Accra East was on the sixth position with 860 while Volta and Western Regions followed with 754 and 455 in that order.
As a result of this, the Revenue Protection Unit of the ECG in these part of the ECG’s operational area intensified campaign to clampdown on those engaged in the unlawful act.
Ashanti Regional Manager for Public Relations and Communication, Erastus Baidoo, who confirmed the action in Kumasi to energynewsafrica.com, said the owners had been summoned to report to the Adum office of the Revenue Protection Unit today, Saturday, without fail.
He said his outfit would undertake assessment and reading of their system to find out how much of power the culprits had consumed and charged them accordingly.
He said, apart from charging them for the illegal power they had consumed, the culprits would also be made to pay penalty for their illegal act.
Mr Baidoo cautioned those who might have connected power illegally to disconnect it before they get arrested.
“Be honest and don’t cheat the system. We’re not sleeping. We’re awake so once you steal the power, we will, one day, get you and we will let you pay a heavy penalty for it,” he stated.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
