Confusion as ECG customers encounter negative balance on prepaid metres on first power recharge after tariff increment

The upward adjustment of utility tariiff has come with challenges for a couple of customers after purchasing prepaid credit onto their metres.

Some customers who encountered such challenges thronged the office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at Achimota to get their grievances resolved.

About 80 to 100 persons were in a queue Monday, September 5, 2022, with about 95% issuing complaints of negative balance on their metres after recharging and placing their cards on their metres.

Meanwhile, some customers who spoke with Onuaonline noted they have had the challenge for almost a week without the ECG coming to their rescue.

A customer who gave his name as Alex stated “I bought prepaid 50 Cedis so I put it on the metre since the credit on it was almost finished. The metre went off the moment I placed the card on it. I realised the lights in my room was off.
“And when I read the balance on it, it was GH₵-444.62. This is the first time I’m experiencing particular problem even though I’ve been having some errors intermittently which they have been solving for me.

“I met about 70 to 100 people here this morning when I came. Some said negative balance were 709, others 1,000 so it wasn’t me alone. The ECG said they will come and fix it tomorrow but some people were saying they have had the problem for almost a week now but the ECG have not attended to them.”

Seth Assibey, another customer had told this portal “We bought credit on our metre but didn’t reflect. There was no power too. When we checked it read that we are owing and we don’t know how the debt came.

“They took my contact and told me they will come and fix it for me. This is the first time I am experiencing this. I met a lot of people equally complaining of same problem. Some say theirs is ₵1,000, others say ₵100, ₵200, and even ₵10.”