The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has imposed a fine of Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00) on members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) board who served from January 1 to March 18, 2024.
The fine was imposed on them due to their violation of Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413, which requires prior notification to consumers before any power interruption.
According to the PURC, ECG violated it’s directive to issue a load-shedding timetable by April 2, 2024 which was issued on March 18, 2024.
The PURC further asked the ECG to submit the total number of planned outages that it undertook between January and March.
But the PURC in a letter on Monday, April 15, said its analysis of the data submitted showed that 4142 outages were carried out within the period.
“The Commission established from its analysis of data submitted by ECG that there were 4142 outages to consumers within ECG’s operational areas between January and March 2024. Out of this number, 165 representing 3.98% of the total outages were ECG-planned outages. Further analysis showed that of the 165 ECG planned outages, 40 were supported by public notices, while there were no notices for the remaining 125 outages.
“Further, 38 of the 40 notices did not comply with the requisite three-day statutory notice prescribed under Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413. This indicates that in 163 instances of planned outages, ECG did not comply with the law.”
The PURC added that it is imposing 3,000 penalty units on ECG for each breach it committed in its defiance of complying with the timetable directive.
It said the fine be imposed on ECG’s board members due to ownership structure.
“For failure to comply with the 3-day statutory notice required under Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413, the Commission in accordance with Regulation 45 of L.I. 2413, hereby imposes a regulatory charge of 3,000 penalty units on ECG for each of the 163 breaches, amounting to Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00).
“The Commission has determined that having regard to the nature of ECG’s ownership and business, the imposition of the penalty of Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00) on ECG would be counter-productive, as payment from ECG’s revenue would have a rebounding adverse effect on quality of service and consumers who pay tariffs to the company.”
The nine board members have up to May 30, 2024, to pay the fine “into a dedicated fuel account under the joint control of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance.”
Among those affected by the fine are Keli Gadzekpo, who resigned as Board Chair on March 26, and the current ECG Managing Director, Samuel Dubik Mahama.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
