Maxwell Afful, an 18-year-old, has been convicted by the Achimota District Court and fined GH¢480 for the theft and possession of meters belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

According to a newspaper report by the Ghanian Times dated August 1, 2023, the suspect was charged with illegal possession of stolen property and intentionally interfering with the supplier's distribution system.

He pleaded guilty in default and will serve a four-month jail term.

According to the prosecution, Afful was apprehended by the Achimota Mile 7 Police Patrol team in possession of a backpack containing tools and six stolen meters from ECG customers' premises.

In his statement, the suspect, now a convict, admitted to removing these meters from households and reselling them to other customers at different locations.

Dr. Mark Owusu Ansah, the Revenue Protection Manager of ECG, Accra West Region, expressed concern over the impact of meter theft on the company's ability to provide quality service.

He highlighted that the geo-tagged meters helped ECG monitoring teams track their movements and ensure the regular monitoring of meter installations.

"All our installed meters are geo-tagged to indicate their exact locations. This helps our teams to monitor the state of our meter installations regularly.

“The stealing, reselling and changing original location of installed meters were affecting revenue generation of the company because some clients use power without paying due to the illegality," Dr Ansah said.

Emmanuel Akinie, the General Manager of ECG, Accra West region, warned the public that the company would actively pursue and apprehend criminals engaged in meter theft.

Additionally, the company is introducing technology to identify stolen and re-installed meters.

The Accra West region, consisting of eight operational districts, has experienced meter theft cases in four of the districts this year.

These districts include Ablekuma, Achimota, Ama-saman, Bortianor, Dansoman, Kaneshie, Korle-Bu, and Nsawam.

NW/OGB

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