ECG Pilots New Smart Prepaid Meters In Ahenema Kokoben District
The Ashanti West Region of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has commenced the second phase of its smart prepaid meter pilot project at Brofoyedru in the Ahenema Kokoben District.
As part of the initiative, 100 new smart prepaid meters — comprising 90 single-phase and 10 three-phase meters — have been installed to replace non-smart prepaid, faulty prepaid, and postpaid meters, at no cost to selected customers.
Mr. George Amoah, General Manager of ECG’s Ashanti West Region, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the pilot would run for two months, after which ECG would evaluate the results before considering a broader rollout.
He said the project falls under ECG’s flagship “Loss Reduction Project” (LRP), aimed at improving operational efficiency and minimizing energy losses.
Ahenema Kokoben was selected due to its fast-growing customer base and rising electricity demand. The district currently has over 50,000 ECG customers, with projections estimating growth to between 80,000 and 100,000 by next year.
Mr. Amoah highlighted key features of the new meters, including an activity recorder that tracks all user interactions. The system automatically detects illegal connections or tampering, shutting down the meter and blocking further credit purchases.
He explained that the smart meters are integrated with the Meter Management System (MMS), allowing customers to purchase credit online and access real-time information about their energy consumption and purchases via the User Interface Unit.
ECG is actively monitoring the performance of the newly installed meters to ensure the success of the pilot for the benefit of both the company and its customers.
Amoah assured that any unused credit on old meters would be transferred to the new smart meters.
He urged the public to support efforts to curb power theft by reporting illegal connections to ECG offices or the national task force via 0551444011. Whistleblowers, he said, stand to receive a six percent commission on any recovered amount as a reward for credible information.
Source: GNA
