The government’s determination to prevent the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) from collapsing has been underlined by Energy Minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh.
He asserted that revenue leakages and unfavorable tariff regimes pose challenges to the company’s survival during the establishment of the Revenue Protection Task Force.
At the residence of Yaa Naa Abdulai Andani, the Overlord of Dagbon, Dr. Opoku Prempeh iterated as follows:
“If NEDCo were selling maize, in every month, it buys and transports 100 bags of maize to Tamale but is only able to account for 52 bags; in spite of this, it has to continue to go and buy another 100 bags in the next month.
Clearly, Ndana, if this is not checked, sooner than later, we would not have any NEDCo in the area, and by extension, there will be no national grid; I am very sure that that is the last thing we would wish for even our worst enemies.”
Meanwhile, the management of NEDCO is acting on orders from the Energy Ministry to plug income gaps, including the installation of smart pre-payment meters that are less vulnerable to manipulation and power theft.
He pointed out that NEDCO’s situation has been “further worsened by the current tariff regime which sells electricity to NEDCo at 50.28 GHp/kWh but enjoins them to sell the same energy to lifeline customers at 41.91 GHp/kWh.
What aggravates their woes is that, of the 82.46% of their customers who are residential, as much as 46.81% are lifeline customers so their losses amass even before they start selling the power”.
While lamenting the difficulties NEDCO is experiencing, the energy minister revealed that a comparable task force, the Electricity Company of Ghana, has recovered some sizeable losses on its behalf.
To that effect, he convinced the Overlord to help the task group carry out its mission in the area. To that effect, he stated:
“Your Majesty, by this singular act, it is our humble view that you would be demonstrating the highest traditional support possible for this drive to ensure the sustainability of electricity distribution in the north.
Ndana, furthermore, may I ask humbly, that as the Overlord of Dagbon, to whom we all defer, you kindly consider making a public statement in support of the mass installation of the pre-payment meters,” he concluded.
Conclusion
Stay tuned for more interesting news updates.