GO ALL OUT, ECG (JAN 5, 2011)

EVERY country thrives on energy. It is one of the basic requirements in any human endeavour.
It is from this realisation that Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, undertook what was then the biggest investment in sub-Saharan Africa, the construction of the Akosombo Dam.
At that time, the capacity of the dam extended to other countries in the West African sub-region. Sadly, however, as has been the bane of our development agenda, lack of proper planning led us to abandon most of our hydro-electric projects almost 40 years after independence.
Today, the country is faced with serious national electricity challenges, to the point that it is no longer news to report the blackout that some parts of the capital suffered prior to the Yuletide.
We recognise that the people must pay realistic tariffs for the use of power, but the challenges facing electricity supply in the country do not support this argument of charging realistic tariffs.
One such challenge is the huge indebtedness of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for electricity consumption, a situation that has nearly crippled the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The news that about 900 prepaid meters have been installed in some MDAs, in spite of some initial resistance, gives some reprieve to domestic users of power.
While the DAILY GRAPHIC commends the ECG for going ahead to install the prepaid meters, we are not happy at the slow pace at which the exercise is being carried out.
Altogether, there are more than 4,000 prepaid meters to be installed in the MDAs and ECG officials will have to step up the pace to make the exercise successful.
Commercial consumers of power are reeling under pressure from the increases of last year. Individual consumers have also been through the harsh reality of paying high tariffs for power.
It cannot be that the government, whose interest is to work for the people, will overburden individuals, as well as commercial users of energy, by accumulating huge bills and subsequently passing on their cost to the ordinary consumer of power.
The prepaid concept has helped generate the cash flow which the ECG badly needs to address its shortcomings. However, the DAILY GRAPHIC cautions that if the inefficiencies and corrupt practices inherent in the administration of power in the country are not addressed head on, the country will not be able to overcome its power needs, irrespective of the installation of prepaid meters.
But, above all, the DAILY GRAPHIC strongly believes it is about time the country took a long-term approach to solving our energy challenges. For starters, the MDAs must take a cue from the Energy Ministry which currently uses solar energy to generate its power needs.
Everybody will be too willing to pay realistic tariffs for power only when the issue of illegal connections is firmly dealt with and a conscious effort made to improve service delivery.
It is said that the ECG loses about 13 per cent of the power it regularly purchases from the Volta River Authority (VRA) to illegal connections and the earlier this canker is uprooted, the better it will be for all of us.