The Volta Regional Directorate of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has mobilised GH¢12.5 million from its debtors within one week of debt collection operation in the region.

The amount realised is above the initial target of GH¢5 million, representing 250 percent of the revenue mobilisation.

Benjamin Obeng Antwi, the Regional Public Relations Officer, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Ho, said the second-week operation was being finalised.

The ECG is embarking on a revenue mobilisation drive to retrieve a debt of GH¢5.7 billion across the country, of which customers in the Volta and Oti regions owe about GH¢219 million.

The exercise is being undertaken in 11 operational districts across the two regions and was yielding the desired results, he said, with two more weeks to go.

Meanwhile, the Regional Directorate has served the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) a demand notice to redeem its GH¢17 million accrued between 2021 and till date.

The entire Kpeve headworks alone owes the highest amount of about GH¢13 million in power arrears with the least being GH¢68.48.

The notice, which was signed by Michael Buabin, the Acting General Manager of ECG, Volta Region, sighted by the GNA, is urging the GWCL to pay up its bills on or before April 4, this year, or face disconnection across its offices and generating facilities in the region.

The letter partly read: “We are compelled to serve you a disconnection notice following PURC Regulations LI 2413, 37, sub-regulation (2), which states that a public utility that seeks to disconnect a service under paragraphs (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall give the consumer written notice of disconnection at least three working days before disconnecting the service.”

“In line with the above regulation, you are required to settle all arrears within six working days or your facility will be disconnected on Monday, April 4.”

In an interview with the GNA, Mr Buabin reiterated that ECG never took delight in disconnecting its clients but as a business entity, which bought power to trade for profit, it could crush when unpaid bills piled-up uncollected.

He said disconnections as the last resort was carried out to prevent the customer from accruing more debt and to enable the Company to gather more revenue to keep the electricity supply chain running.

“We want to make Volta Region the hub of excellent customer service so we want to ensure stable power supply in the region and the revenue from our customers will enable us to complete pending projects and initiate new ones,” he said.