The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the Lower Manya Krobo Constituency in the Eastern Region, Simon Tetteh has led a meter installation exercise in the area to ensure that residents have access to electricity.

Simon Tetteh, who doubles as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area, is installing the meters through the Municipal Assembly to connect nine communities to the national grid as part of the Self-Help Electrification Project.

The meter installation exercise is taking place in Aplah, Abobeng, Obelemanya, Wawase, Odorkorm, Ayermesu Kpeti, Ayermesu Akro, and other communities. Explaining the rationale behind the project, Mr. Simon Kweku Tetteh averred that electricity is crucial to national growth and that lighting the areas is critical to increasing business productivity.

“The people have been in darkness for a long time, and when I took over as MCE, I promised the people that I would extend electricity to the areas. When Mr. Boakye Agyarko was appointed Energy Minister, I had talks with him, and we were able to extend electricity to the area. We are now at the final stage of providing them with postpaid meters,” he said.

He added that it was time to provide them with Self-Help Electrification Project meters from the Ministry of Energy to help connect the area to the national grid.

“The power, cables, poles, and transformers have been fixed; all we’re doing now is metering to brighten up the communities and bring the power to their doorstep so that business activities can thrive,” he noted.

John Gaddasu, CEO of Gaddason Engineering Limited, said the project began in 2017, adding that they were starting with mending faulty meters to finish the project, which has begun in Obelemanya and will continue in other areas.

“We are installing about 300 meters for free, an initiative from the government under the Ministry of Energy,” he stated.

He stressed that they chose postpaid meters since it will be difficult for them to obtain prepaid credit in remote areas, and that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) officials will rather go to the area for their bills.

Angmortey Henry Numo, an Obelemanya opinion leader and the best farmer in Lower Manya Krobo in 2023, praised the MCE for the initiative as electricity will increase productivity in the area.

According to him, the locals are fishermen and farmers who mostly use fuel to power their generators in order to operate their frozen fish businesses, which is expensive when compared to electricity. This will help improve their businesses by cutting costs.

“We are grateful for this opportunity, as it will help us record our bills and grow our firms,” he said.

Godwin Ndevo, a resident of the area, noted that the lack of electricity in the area devastated them and that now that they have meters available, it will enable their children to study at night before exams to guarantee their success.

According to him, since there was no light, they were unable to charge their phones and were frequently attacked by reptiles, including snakes. However, now that meters have been set for them, it’s a significant move that will greatly assist them in their daily activities.