By Laudia Sawer, GNA
Tema, Sept 14, GNA – The Electricity Company
of Ghana (ECG) says it is illegal for tenants to remove and transfer meters
from rented properties they are vacating to other locations.
Most tenants who have issues with their
landlords remove electricity meters they facilitate to install when vacating.
Engineer Joseph Forson, Tema Regional General
Manager of the ECG, interacting with the media, said the practice where tenants
who facilitated the acquisition of meters on their rented premises claimed
ownership, was wrong and illegal.
Mr Forson explained that the meter was a state
property and tenants had no right to remove it from their rented premises
adding that in any case, ECG only had contracts with landlords not tenants.
He indicated that a landlord was supposed to
endorse and provide some information when applying for a meter therefore their
contract was with the landlord rather than the tenant.
He further said meters were not transferrable
and urged the public to visit the nearest ECG offices to handle any meter
related issues.
The General Manager reminded the public to
only use Energy Commission’s certified electricians to wire their properties as
it was a requirement for the application for a meter.
He indicated that ECG used to license internal
and external electrical contractors but the Energy Commission was now required
by law to license those engaged in internal wiring therefore no application
would be approved without strict adherence to it.
Mr Victor Ofei Awuku, Acting Regional
Commercial Manager, in a presentation on tariffs, said there were about 1,200
customers in Tema Region on the Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) metering
technology.
Mr Awuku added that 48 per cent and 52 per
cent were Special Levy Tariff (SLT) and non-SLT customers respectively.
The meters,
he noted, were single and three phased with a capacity ranging from a
minimum of 5/6Amps to 100Amps.
He stated that all the SLT meters were current
transformer operated type with basic metering function for importing and exporting
power as well as support two way communication.
GNA