The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has expressed worry over the growing trend of attacks and threats against Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) staff, warning consumers that frustration over poor power supply must not degenerate into violence.
The warning comes amid mounting complaints from consumers over frequent and prolonged power outages, high electricity bills, delays in acquiring electricity meters and the unavailability of meters in some communities.
While acknowledging consumers’ concerns, the PURC said some of the problems confronting the electricity supply system were also being worsened by illegal activities.
Speaking to the media in Bolgatanga, Mohammed Adam Sulaiman, the Regional Manager of PURC, disclosed that apart from some consumers attacking and threatening NEDCo staff, they were also destroying transformers mounted by the company.
He cited, for instance, that 20 electricity transformers were damaged between January and August in the Region, with illegal connections and power theft among the activities blamed for the damage to electricity infrastructure.
He said some consumers resorted to direct connections from main distribution lines, a practice that could damage transformers, meters and other critical components of the distribution network.
Mr Sulaiman described the growing threats and attacks against NEDCo personnel as a “great source of worry” to PURC and called on consumers to exercise restraint.
He urged aggrieved consumers to report their grievances to PURC instead of taking the law into their own hands.
“PURC is a body created by law, and so every single action of ours must be consistent with the law,” he said.
He explained that the Commission had a legal mandate to receive, investigate and resolve complaints while protecting the interests of both electricity consumers and service providers.
The concerns from consumers are not without basis.
Many consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of electricity supply, citing frequent and prolonged outages, what they consider high billing, a tedious process for acquiring electricity meters and the lack of meters in some areas.
However, PURC said consumers must also understand that not every power outage was caused by NEDCo.
Mr Sulaiman explained that interruptions could originate from GRIDCo or be caused by natural and external factors such as heavy rain, windstorms, falling trees and accidents.
While consumers demand reliable and quality electricity, they equally had a responsibility to pay for the electricity they consumed, Mr Sulaiman said.
Mr Sulaiman stated that NEDCo had the legitimate right to mobilise revenue to sustain its operations and provide services, explaining that disconnection was one of the lawful mechanisms available to NEDCo to recover unpaid bills.
The situation, he said, therefore required responsibility from both sides, consumers must pay for electricity and avoid illegal connections, while NEDCo must provide reliable and quality service.
The tensions between consumers and NEDCo were recently brought into sharp focus in Tongo in the Talensi, where residents endured a blackout lasting more than a week.
The prolonged outage created an impasse between residents and NEDCo, forcing PURC to intervene.
Mr Sulaiman said the Commission stepped in to help resolve the dispute between the residents and NEDCo.
The Tongo situation, he noted, underscored the importance of PURC’s role as an independent regulator and a channel through which consumers could seek redress when they had grievances against utility providers.