No free power for customers indebted to ECG - Amewu

Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu has clarified that persons who have been taken off the national grid due to indebtedness will not benefit from the absorption of electricity tariffs.

The Minister responding to a question on how such persons can benefit from the benefit said only those who will pay their arrears will benefit from the package.

He explained those who were disconnected will not enjoy until they are brought back to the national grid.

The Minister has hinted it will cost the nation GHC1 billion to absorb the electricity bills of Ghanaians for the next three months as part of relief measures in the wake of the Coronavirus disease.

The amount is expected to cover an estimated population of about 4.8 million meters across Ghana.

According to him, the amount would cover the electricity bills of consumers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).

The Energy Minister explained that life-line consumers as defined by the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), where people who used only one television set, two lighting bulb points, a table top fridge and a fan for a limited number of hours.

The government would fully absorb the electricity bills for people who consumed zero to 50 kw/h of electricity for the periods of April, May and June.

For residential and commercial users, the government would absorb 50 per cent of the electricity bills using March 2020 as benchmark.