The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says it will scrutinise the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) proposed meter audit framework and make key details available to consumers before the exercise proceeds.
The Commission says the review is intended to ensure that the audit does not unfairly disadvantage electricity users and that adequate safeguards are put in place to protect their interests.
The move follows public concerns about the scope of the planned exercise and its potential implications for electricity consumers.
PURC Executive Secretary, Dr Shafic Suleman, said the regulator would engage ECG further to clarify the audit procedures and ensure that consumers receive sufficient information to understand the exercise.
Speaking to Citi News, he said the Commission would also consider simplifying the audit framework to make its contents more accessible to the public.
“Be rest assured that we are going to look at the audit framework again and probably summarise the content of it and make it available to the Ghanaian consumer from the perspective of ECG before they even go,” he said.
Dr Suleman urged the public to allow the regulator to examine the framework and address outstanding concerns rather than draw conclusions about the exercise before the review is completed.
He stressed that consumer protection would remain central to the Commission’s assessment of the proposed audit.
“We will be engaging ECG further to ensure that in the audit framework, whatever we think the consumer needs to know, we will make it available for the consumer to know,” he said.
He added that PURC would scrutinise the framework to ensure that its implementation did not negatively affect consumers.
“At the same time, PURC is going to scrutinise the framework once again to ensure that it doesn’t affect the consumer negatively. And they will also be safe-guided because that’s the reason why we are there. We are there to serve the Ghanaian consumer,” he said.
The Commission’s intervention places emphasis on regulatory oversight, transparency and consumer safeguards as ECG prepares for the proposed meter audit.
The review is expected to help clarify the objectives and procedures of the exercise and provide electricity users with a better understanding of what to expect.
PURC has reiterated its commitment to protecting consumers’ interests, indicating that it will work with ECG to ensure that the audit framework addresses public concerns before the exercise moves forward.
