The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) faces a hefty regulatory charge as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) imposes a fine of Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS5,868,000.00) on its board members.
This penalty arises from their oversight during the period of January to March 2024, marked by unnotified power outages, commonly known as ‘Dumsor’ that has widely disrupted daily lives of power consumers.
Among the board members affected are Samuel Mahama Dubik, the former ECG MD, and Keli Gadzekpo, who recently resigned as board chairman.
The PURC’s decision, communicated in a letter to the ECG on April 15, underscores the regulatory body’s commitment to accountability and consumer protection within the energy sector. The commission had previously requested information from the ECG regarding tariff revenue allocation and regulatory audit data, which remained unfulfilled despite multiple reminders. Consequently, the PURC opted to levy fines on the board members, rather than burdening the company itself, citing concerns about potential service delivery disruptions.
Affected board members are mandated to settle the fine into a dedicated fuel account jointly controlled by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance by May 30, 2024. Notably exempt from the penalty is Herbert Krapah, the current Deputy Energy Minister, whose tenure falls outside the specified period. As the ECG grapples with the repercussions of ‘dumsor’ and regulatory scrutiny, stakeholders await further developments in this ongoing saga, highlighting the importance of regulatory compliance and accountability in ensuring the reliability of Ghana’s energy infrastructure.
Portions of Letter of the Fine: ECG Board Members Fined for Dumsor As PURC Imposes GHS5.868m Penalty
The Commission established from its analysis of data submitted by ECG that there were 4142 outages to consumers within ECG’s operational areas between January and March 2024. Out of this number, 165 representing 3.98% of the total outages were ECG-planned outages. Further analysis showed that of the 165 ECG planned outages, 40 were supported by public notices, while there were no notices for the remaining 125 outages. Further, 38 of the 40 notices did not comply with the requisite three-day statutory notice prescribed under Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413. This indicates that in 163 instances of planned outages, ECG did not comply with the law.
For failure to comply with the 3-day statutory notice on notification and publication of planned outages required under Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413, the Commission in accordance with Regulation 45 of L.I. 2413, also imposed a regulatory charge of 3,000 penalty units on ECG for each of the 163 breaches, amounting to Five Million, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 5,868,000.00).
