About 4,000 out of the 7,500 residents at Akotoshie and its 25 surrounding villages in the Ga West Municipality who over the past six years have not been paying bills to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have been mapped out for payment by June 2013.

The communities were hooked to the national GRID through the Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP) under the Rural Electrification Project, but the residents of these communities have since not been registered to pay for power consumed.

Residents will be required to pay one-third of the amount owed, and the rest spread over an agreed period according to the General Manager of ECG, Mr. K. Arthur–Forson.

This came to light when the Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor paid a day's working visit to the Nsawam District office of ECG in the Ga-West Municipality of Accra to familiarize himself with the ongoing registration exercise of customers by ECG within the catchment area.

Briefing the Minister, the Regional General Manager of ECG, Mr. K. Arthur-Forson said, the problem arose as a result of contractors failing to hand over the project to ECG upon completion to enable them capture residents for billing.

Mr. Arthur-Forson disclosed that residents are being educated to appreciate that the SHEP is not absolutely free. He further assured the Honourable Minister that, by the end of June 2013, all 7,500 residents would have been mapped out for billing.

Interacting with the staff of ECG after the field visit, the Deputy Minister expressed concern about the delay in capturing the customers and, therefore, demanded that the mapping out exercise be expedited to ensure that the completion date of June is achieved.

Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor also reiterated the government's commitment to ensure that Ghanaians enjoy secure, reliable and sustainable energy. To this end, he has charged the staff of ECG to give off their best since they are at the frontline staff in terms of providing electricity within the power sector.