The Billing and Revenue Protection Officer of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Godswill Amihere, has decried the rising cases of illegal connections in the Tamale Metropolis and its environs after the temporary suspension of their monitoring exercise at dawn.
The company previously embarked on a rigorous monitoring exercise from 5:00 am to clamp down on illegal connections and the tampering of meters in various communities.
However, this was confronted with fierce resistance from community members and some assembly members in the area. The people described the operations as illegal and an invasion of people’s privacy, which subsequently led to a protest against NEDCo.
Consequently, the exercise was temporarily suspended upon engagement with some key stakeholders in the region who appealed to the utility provider to discontinue the early morning operations.
Nonetheless, officials of NEDCo on Monday and Tuesday, April 20 and 21, respectively, carried out a monitoring exercise at Kalpohin and Kukuo, where a total of 270 meters were disconnected for illegal connections.
The Billing and Revenue Protection Officer, Mr. Godswill Amihere, in an interview, said that at least 8 out of every 10 houses were reportedly engaged in the menace.
“In fact, when we were going out, when you count ten houses, it may be only two that may not be involved in illegal connections.
“The space that we worked [within a very small space], but it was like almost all the meters there were compromised,” he stated.
According to Mr. Amihere, some of the meters have been damaged in an attempt by the users to steal the power.
He said that the perpetrators mostly carry out these unlawful acts in the night and hurriedly at about 4:00 am to avoid being caught by authorities.
Meanwhile, the Billing and revenue protection officer has hinted at possible prosecution of customers found culpable of any wrongdoing.
