Between 2019 and 2021, more than 12,416 people were arrested for stealing power worth Gh178.44 million from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
In the midst of a campaign against power theft, the power distribution firm has undertaken a persistent war against creditors, including state entities, who owe them payments totaling millions of cedis.
This comes after Energy Minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh issued a harsh warning to ECG executives about the company’s continual revenue losses across its entire spectrum, signaling that it would no longer be tolerated.
According to him, a full evaluation of the company’s operational architecture is required as a first step toward assuring its robustness.
However, according to the latest information given by the ECG, power theft accounted for 157.16 Gigawatt hours of electricity, which was recovered for Gh178.44 million (equal to US$23,018,760).
The ECG’s legal department has been recommended 1,047 of the power thieves for prosecution as a deterrent to others.
ECG stated it has had to deal with theft of copper from distribution transformers, utility poles, transformer oil from energized transformers, subterranean cables, overhead conductors, and other items in addition to power theft.
“These criminal acts have several adverse consequences including the obvious economic impact, service disruptions, and possible danger to ECG personnel, the public, and persons involved in the theft,” ECG said.
