Ho, April 24, GNA - Many electricity users in the Ho municipality have welcomed the replacement of their credit meters with pre-paid ones, which in their view, would afford them flexibility in paying for the electricity they consume.

The consensus among the consumers was that the new metering system enabled them to plan and budget towards the amount of electricity they consumed every month thus avoiding the anxiety about how much they would pay as electricity bills under the credit system and the risk of disconnection and additional cost for reconnection.

The consumers who mostly spoke on condition of anonymity said there was now a growing awareness to use electricity judiciously.

Some of them were, however, less optimistic about the new system and said some time was needed to assess its positive impact. Speaking to the GNA, Mr Dan Acquah-Labi, Acting Volta Regional Director of the ECG, said the programme was not necessitated by the current power-rationing regime, but only coincided with it. He advised consumers not to fidget with the new meters but call the ECG if there should be any problems with their meters through hotline (25757) because they risked losing power by so doing. He cautioned that if it was found out that a pre-paid meter got spoilt through tampering the consumer concerned would be made to pay for its replacement.

Mr Acquah-Larbi was optimistic that the new metering system would bring mutual benefits to the ECG and its consumers. He explained that it would be too early to say how the new meters had affected the revenue position of the company in Ho. Mr Acquah-Larbi was, however, optimistic that the new metering system would be of mutual benefit to both consumers and the company.