Overbilling and late billing of electricity consumption dominate PURC community complaint desk.
Overbilling and late or accumulated billing of electricity have been identified as the topmost utility consumption problems affecting the people of Zorkor-Goo in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.
The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) of the Upper East Region on 3rd April 2025 mounted a one-day community complaint desk at Zorkor-Goo to ascertain the challenges the community faces in the consumption of electricity and water.
The 5-hour event, which started around 10AM and ended around 5PM, witnessed several people who came out to lay their complaints before the commission in a bid to find lasting solutions.
Among the issues raised, overbilling and late or accumulated billing were the most raised challenges affecting the community. Followed by faulty meters, lack of meters, and broken poles.
In a conversation with Godfred Awindenaba of xtrememediaonline.com, a member of the commission who did not disclose his identity stated that the biggest problem facing the community in electricity consumption is overbilling and late billing.
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He added that they either do not get their bills in time or they get the bills but with unexpected amounts, leaving them to wonder how they managed to consume such amounts of power without using powerful electrical gadgets.
“Almost everybody is complaining of overbilling. They believe that they do not use gadgets that would amount to such high bills. Most of them also complained of not receiving their bills on time, while others also complained of receiving bills that keep doubling up every month,” he explained.
In his attempt to offer education on the delay and accumulated billing, he revealed that most of the community members are benefitting from the Self Help Electrification Project (SHEP), which causes a delay in the billing process.
The SHEP Project was initiated by the Ghana government some years ago to encourage communities to participate in their communities electrification process by contributing to the cost of infrastructure (such as erecting poles), while the government handled the technical aspects and connection to the national grid. This was to ensure that several rural communities get connected to the national grid.
“You see, most of these people are beneficiaries of the SHEP Project, and with that, the names and meter numbers are usually prepared by the District Assemblies and forwarded to the Electricity Company of Ghana, who then prepares their bills and subsequently delivers them to them. At times, the assembly delays in releasing those names, which automatically delays the billing processes, and when that happens, the ECG then has to prepare the bills in addition to the arrears, which do account for the accumulated and delayed billing,” he added.
Mr. Amaltogom, a representative of the assemblyman for the area, praised the PURC for the engagement, which he believes is beneficial to the community. In an interview with xtrememediaonline.com, Mr. Amaltogom stated that most of the people who were worried about their problems have received useful information on the right steps to take.
“Those who were worried about the ECG’s failure to give them meters after they had applied and thought it was over have been directed to reapply and wait for two weeks, and if nothing happens, they should visit the PURC office to lay a complaint for redress. Those who were also worried that the ECG will cut off their power if they fail to pay up the accumulated bills have been advised to pay in installments by pay up extra money whenever they go to make payments for their current bills so that the extra money will be used in clearing arrears bit by bit until they finished paying to avoid disconnection and unfriendly confrontation with the ECG,” he stated
Meanwhile, the Assemblyman, Hon. Fuseini Nbire, who spoke to us on the phone, revealed that the PURC’s decision to mount the complaint desk is as a result of numerous complaints from him.
“When they called me, they told me that they are identifying people who give them frequent complaints on utility issues, and they have realized that I complain a lot, so they would like to engage the community and see if some of their issues could be resolved,” he stated.
Members of the community also expressed satisfaction in the engagement process, especially the humility demonstrated by the officials and their zeal to the extent of going to individual houses for firsthand and credible information on the issues raised, especially with faulty meters.
The PURC officials also advised the community members to always put off their switches, sockets, and gadgets whenever they are not in use in order to reduce consumption and cost.