Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Deputy Energy Minister, says plans are well underway to outsource the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) billing and collection functions to a private entity.
According to Egyapa Mercer, a consultant has been recruited and is working with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on the modalities after cabinet clearance.
Speaking at the JoyNews national forum on the power sector, the NPP MP for Sekondi stated that the strategy has already been tried in several locations.
“Discussions are far advanced and of course typically you will have resistance from our friends in the ECG. But it is something that I believe will help them.
“We have tasked them to put in boundary meters as a first step that they are working on. Of course, the digitalization programme that they have also rolled out is also helping with the collections.
“So when they can put the boundary meters in all their operational districts and know the volume of power that is going to every district then you can introduce private sector people to bill and collect the revenue for the power that is coming to that enclave,” he went on to say.
The discovery comes in the wake of persistent sporadic power outages around the country, which many have been blamed on ECG’s failure to pay its suppliers.
Read Also: TEWU concerned over quality of meals under free SHS program
According to analysts, the root of ECG’s financial problems is an imbalance between income generation and operational expenditures.
In November 2023, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister, stated that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has increased in its losses. As of September 2023, the corporation had collection losses totaling GH¢2, 050,373,143.47.
Non-payment, delinquency, or bad debt from renters or customers results in collection loss, which is money that is not received.
In 2022, the firm generated a total loss of GH¢2,448,770,084.34.
Again, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is saddled with a massive $1.5 billion debt as a result of its failure to satisfy its financial obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and unable to pay bills for purchased power in full.
In addition, the Deputy Energy Minister emphasized that ECG’s consistent income deficits could not be sustained.
He was confident that privatizing ECG’s collection and billing capabilities would help the firm earn cash and pay off its obligations.
“This is something that they have already piloted,” he said.
