The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), haunted by huge revenue losses lost to power theft, non-payment of bills on the part of its consumers, has vowed to cut down on such losses which last year were more than GH¢444m.

According to the power distributor, last year 24.18 percent of the power it bought from its suppliers was lost to incidents of illegal connections to the power grid, meter-tampering, as well as non-payment of bills by some consumers.

The losses come at a time power consumers have been grappling with power rationing that is impeding economic activities.

With every one percent of system loss translating to GH¢18.4million, it is estimated that the activities of dodgy power consumers cost ECG some GH¢444.912million last year.

In a move to reverse the trend, the ECG began a nationwide customer audit exercise to unravel the discrepancies that exist on its grid.

Last Saturday, the Managing Director of ECG Robert Dwamena led a team of journalist to its inaugural customer audit exercise at East Legon, where a number of structures engaged in various illegalities where disconnected.

One of the structures detected to have connected illegally to the power grid was a three-storey bedroom apartment block that was found to have been connected to the national grid for at least six months.

The plush apartment building had no ECG meter but was full furnished with over 10 air-conditioners in the various rooms, as well as other electrical appliances with high power consumption.

When the team got to the scene, none of the tenants were available and the building’s caretaker was interrogated by ECG officials who served notice that the perpetrator will be arraigned before the Utilities Court after investigations.

Speaking to the B&FT in the course of the exercise, Mr. Dwamena said the system-losses are a drain on the company operations, adding that the company will go to great lengths to ensure such losses are brought to the barest minimum.

He stated that it has resorted to rolling-out smart prepaid meters to most of its customers as a way of curbing meter-tampering, which he said is becoming widespread.

The smart meters, he said, have the capability of sending feedback to the ECG when they are tampered with.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has set a 21 percent benchmark for system losses, and going by the exercise, Mr. Dwamena said, it is sure of cutting the losses to about 22 percent by year’s end.

Mr. Dwamena said the scale of this audit exercise will propel the company to reduce its losses to about 22 percent by close of year, and further reduce it to 15 percent in the coming year.

ECG’s Public Relations Manager, commenting on the scale of power theft, said the incidence is not limited to poorly-developed areas and that some structures within first-class areas have also in the past been caught in the illegal act.