A Commissioner at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) and Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology & Environment (KITE), Ishmael Edjekumhene, says the commission will not benefit from the GH₵5,868,000 fine to be paid by the board members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
According to him, the amount is to be paid into a dedicated fuel account under the joint control of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance on or before 30th May 2024.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Top Story on Tuesday, April 16, Mr Edjekumhene stated that “PURC is not going to benefit from the fine,” emphasizing that the Commission is not a signatory to the said account in which the money would be paid.
He clarified that the idea of getting money to build up funds and acquire fuel as and when necessary informed the decision as to where the money should be paid.
Mr Edjekumhene’s remarks come after the PURC fined the board members of the ECG, who served in office from January 1 to March 18, 2024, to pay a regulatory charge of GHS5,868,000 in fines for overseeing power outages without any notification to power consumers between January and March this year.
The board includes the ECG MD, Samuel Mahama Dubik, and eight others. The current Deputy Energy Minister, Herbert Krapah, chairs the board, but he will not be affected as his tenure falls outside the period of the regulatory orders.
Keli Gadzekpo, who resigned as board chairman three weeks ago, will be affected by this fine. Chief Whip, Frank Annor Dompreh, and five other individuals are all affected.
The PURC has also criticized the ECG for offering “not factually accurate” reasons for the erratic and haphazard power outages suffered by consumers in recent times.
The ECG had claimed that overloaded transformers (as many as 630) were responsible for the power supply interruptions to homes and workplaces.
It also blamed the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), for making unplanned and last-minute demands to cut supply, which is also why it could not provide a load management timetable to guide consumers on when not to expect supply.
But commenting on the issue and whether there is a penalty for that, Mr Edjekumhene said the penalty is part of the sanction meted out to the ECG board members.
“If you provide false information to the regulator, if you read the order carefully, there are three different infractions that we are penalizing ECG and their board.”
Myjoyonline.com