Madam Sakyiwaa Mensah, the Public Relations Officer of ECG, Tema Region, told the Ghana News Agency that “we are working in collaboration with officers from the 49 Field Engineers Regiment to provide technical assistance with the installation of the prepaid meters in Krobo District.”

Madam Mensah said ECG has had a long-standing relationship with the Ghana Military, spanning over two decades, adding that for instance in February 2022, the Company had an exercise with them, through their ECG Training School in Tema.

She said it was their hope to install as many meters within the shortest possible time, hence the need for extra hands, adding that 90 extra technical staff had also been drawn from across the Tema Regional Office’s operational areas to help in the deployment, as well as making use of the Company’s contractors.

She said in security-wise, officers from the Ghana Police were also on the field with the technical men to provide the needed protection “as has been the case since the inception of installation.”

The PRO disclosed that any customer who refused installation of the prepaid meters’ would have their postpaid meters disconnected, stressing that “should a customer reconnect, they will be charged with illegal connection, and should a customer decide to have a meter after a disconnection, he or she may have to apply for the service.”

She reminded customers in the Krobo District that as agreed with all stakeholders, the prepaid meters being deployed to the district were new and would, therefore, not have any debt of customers on it.

Madam Mensah noted that their debt from 2014 to 2017 had been ring-fenced or set aside, while that of 2018 to 2021 was to be paid over a five-year period, adding that “Customers are expected to pay all 2022 bills, going forward.”

She, therefore, encouraged all customers in the district to visit the ECG office to discuss terms of payment on an individual customer basis.

The prepaid meters are being installed for free, and therefore, cautioned customers against imposters who might want to defraud them, adding, however, that customers who want additional meters should apply for the service at the ECG office.