ECG could bill residents as much as GHS10,000 at the end of the month – United Krobo Foundation
Aggrieved residents of Somanya in the Eastern have expressed their displeasure towards the Electricity Company of Ghana over what they describe as “killer” electricity bills.
The disgruntled residents clad in red marched through the community with inscriptions such as “We don’t want you ECG,” “We want VRA,” “Freedom from ECG,” “We will not pay bills,” “ECG move from Krobo lands”.
Other placards also read: “Take your prepaid metres away,” “ECG come and take your faulty prepaid metres away from Krobo land,” and “VRA where is our compensation?”
With the Police offering protection to the angry residents, they marched through the principal streets of Manya Krobo district to Kpong junction in the Yilo Krobo area, which brought commercial activities in the area to a halt.
They then presented their petition highlighting their plight and demands to the management of the Volta River Authority (VRA), urging them to take over the operations of ECG in the area.
The protestors stated that their major problem was the issue of over-billing on the part of ECG, saying that the bills are high, irrespective of their consumption patterns.
They also lamented that the ECG introducing prepaid meters in the area has not helped the situation in any way, adding that the majority of the people in the area are subsistent farmers who cannot afford such bills.
“These people here are not salaried workers who can afford the levels of bills churned out by ECG in the area,” they emphasized.
The protestors were also not enthused about being enrolled onto ECG platforms instead of VRA’s since VRA operates on Krobo lands.
“Why should we have VRA operating on Krobo lands for us to be enrolled on ECG platforms for us to be paying huge bills,” they quizzed.
Organizers of the protest of the United Krobo Foundation, said since 2014, the management of ECG has not been fair to Krobo residents.
“ECG could bill residents as much as GHS10,000 at the end of the month, others who are petty traders, seamstresses are billed GHS5,000,” they lamented.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
