A woman in Accra recently faced an electricity bill with a GH¢9,000 adjustment tagged without explanation. Another household saw its monthly charge leap from GH¢90 to GH¢1,189. These stories echo across Ghana as thousands of customers struggle with unexplained adjustments on their Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) postpaid bills.
Complaints are mounting from Kumasi to Hohoe and parts of Accra. Customers report daily visits to ECG offices seeking answers. They describe encounters with frontline staff as dismissive and unhelpful. Many leave without understanding why their bills ballooned or how the adjustments were calculated.
The spike in billing issues traces back to November 2023, when ECG acknowledged problems stemming from a new billing process. The utility launched a “fix the bill, pay the bill” exercise, taking and verifying actual meter readings to replace estimates. This effort aimed to correct earlier inaccuracies in billing but has instead sparked confusion and frustration.
An adjustment can reflect genuine undercharges if previous bills underestimated consumption. Yet, for customers who have paid every bill, a sudden demand for thousands of cedis raises questions. ECG’s billing statements often lack detailed breakdowns showing the corrected period, meter readings, units consumed, tariffs applied, and payments made. The single word “adjustment” offers no clarity.
Consumers must be able to follow the math without insider knowledge. When data migration or system changes explain discrepancies, ECG should provide records that link the old and new balances. Responsibility for these errors extends from the utility’s technicians to its board, chaired by Ing. Julius Kwame Kpekpena.
The board and management must explain the safeguards in place to prevent incorrect adjustments and how these are monitored. They must demonstrate that revenue collection targets do not override accuracy or customer treatment. Regulation 33 of L.I. 2413 requires utilities to inform customers of undercharges and offer installment payments. Regulation 32 mandates disputed bills be reviewed while consumers pay undisputed amounts.
These protections often fail in practice. Customers describe being shuffled between counters with no clear route to resolution. Those who take time off work and spend money on transport deserve patient hearings and intelligible explanations. Where frontline staff cannot resolve issues, there should be access to officers who can, with complaint references and response timelines.
Financially vulnerable households face shocks when adjustments stretch budgets for food, rent, and school fees. Labeling these as “technical corrections” does not ease the burden. The humiliation of poor customer service only deepens the distress.
ECG is also legally bound to correct overcharges rapidly. Regulation 34 requires excess amounts be credited promptly, with consumers notified. If overcharging persists for more than three months, interest must be paid at rates set by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC). Yet customers who borrowed to pay inflated bills receive no compensation for the lost opportunity to use funds elsewhere.
Once a common billing error is identified, ECG should proactively review all affected accounts. Corrections must reach those who paid without complaint or who failed to spot errors. PURC should demand transparency on how many accounts have been audited, the volume of incorrect charges reversed, credits issued, and outstanding disputes.
Independent investigations must determine whether errors stem from faulty meter readings, software glitches, poor supervision, or misconduct. Where wrongdoing is found, accountability must follow.
The situation reveals a gap between corporate governance and frontline service. The experience of customers standing in queues should inform boardroom decisions. Revenue figures alone cannot capture the health of an institution entrusted with an essential public service.
Thousands of Ghanaians remain caught in the uncertainty of unexplained charges and poor customer care, waiting for answers that ECG has yet to provide.
According to Joy Online.
