Residents of Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities in the Eastern Region are peeved about the decision by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to take them off the national grid.
They argue that ECG is to blame for discrepancies in their bills, hence they cannot be punished for the incompetence of their staff.
The aggrieved residents made this known on The People’s Forum, a segment on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Thursday.
Residents have had a long-standing dispute with the power distribution company over supposed wrong estimation of bills and over-billing, which resulted in the death of a young man during a similar protest two years ago.
The decision to install prepaid meters was stalled after residents in some communities claimed it was just a decoy to recoup the old bill.
Following incessant attacks on ECG installation and staff, it has taken a decision to take the residents off the national grid.
The residents have since Wednesday, July 27, 2022, not had electricity – a situation which is affecting healthcare delivery in the area.
Some of the residents, who spoke on Adom FM, said the power outage has had adverse effect on their business.
A young lady, who operates a cold store, said she has used half of her capital to buy generator and spends GH¢100 a day on fuel.
“My business is going down because of this power issue. I spend GH¢100 a day and I don’t know how long I can keep up,” she bemoaned.
Some parents, whose wards are in school, said their academic performance has been affected due to the lack of electricity.
Though majority were ready for the prepaid meters, others vehemently opposed it arguing that it is not the solution to their problem.
What they want the ECG to do is to write-off all outstanding debts and allow them pay new bills on their post-paid meters.
This, they added, will be the only way the people of Krobo will end the impasse with ECG.