ECG Advises Public To Use Energy Commission’s Certified Electricians
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) said government’s policy on the use of Energy Commission’s Certified Electricians to undertake electrical works is to ensure public safety.
It was to ensure that the right cables and other relevant materials were used for wiring of buildings before the ECG could grant a request for power supply, Mr Mark Seguri, the ECG Technical Officer, Ningo-Prampram District said on Tuesday.
He said this when officers of the District and Tema Regional offices of the ECG embarked on a series of customer education and sensitisation on the Company’s operations at Miotso, Adom Estates, and Prampram.
Answering a question from residents on why an Energy Commission’s electrician certificate was required by the ECG before connecting buildings to the national grid, he said it was to prevent the possibility of fire outbreaks associated with bad wiring.
Mr Seguri said as part of the requirements for the acquisition of new meters, a site plan, electrician certificate and an identity card of the owner must be added to the application.
Even though the Energy Commission’s certified electricians were not staff of the ECG, the various district offices of the company had contacts of those within their jurisdiction to help customers reach out to them faster.
He cautioned the residents against engaging in illegal and unauthorised connections as those acts were punishable according to the laws.
Ms Sakyiwaa Mensah, the Public Relations Officer of ECG, Tema Region, said in recent times the region had been having challenges with fuse theft and transformer vandalism.
“Such theft and vandalism causes inconveniences to customers as their power goes off for a while, while it also affects the Company’s resources, which must then be channeled into replacements rather than other projects.”
She appealed to the public to support the company by helping to police all ECG installations and report or stop people with shady characters from operating around such installations.
The public should request for the ID cards of field workers to ensure that they were the right people doing the work, she said.
Ms Barbara Mussey with the Marketing Unit of ECG, Tema Region, took participants through effective use of electricity to reduce wastage.
Using the educational materials on power consumption, she sensitised them on how various household items consumed power, adding that any equipment, which needed heating to function, such as kettles, irons and electric cookers, consumed a lot of power.
She, therefore, advised the public to iron in bulk to conserve energy, while kettles and electric cookers must be used wisely, adding that if, for instance, a kettle must be used, only the quantity of water needed should be heated rather than heating a kettle full of water and using just a little.