Individuals and businesses that were disturbed over the Electricity Company of Ghana’s notice to customers to purchase a month’s worth of credit ahead of a system upgrade can now heave a sigh of relief as the company has apologized for the statement.
The ECG in a statement, dated November 23, 2024, announced that all customers using the Nuri Prepayment Meters must recharge a month’s worth of credit since the company is about to embark on what they describe as a “crucially mandatory” Standard Transfer Specifications (STS) protocol.
According to the ECG’s statement, customers might experience vending disruptions during the period of the upgrade hence the need for a backup.
“Please buy enough top-up credit that will last for at least one month in order not to experience vending disruptions that might arise out of the on-going Nuri meter upgrading exercise,” parts of the statement read.
This notice, after it went viral evoked the displeasure of many Ghanaians who took to social media to express their discontent.
Some lamented over the inconvenience this directive was potentially going to cause as budgets of individuals and businesses that rely on electricity were going to be disrupted due to such an unplanned expense.
In addition, users were unhappy about the frantic frenzy they were being thrown into to ensure that their power stayed on throughout the upgrade period as it could also spell a serious challenge for businesses and households that cannot afford a month’s worth of credit.
But two days after the statement, the General Manager for External Communications at ECG, Charles Nii Ayiku has calm nerves admitting that the statement was released in error.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based Joy FM which was monitored by The High Street Journal, Charles Nii Ayiku apologized for the statement and any inconveniences it might have caused.
He explained that the mass upgrading exercise was completed on November 24, 2024. However, there are some pockets of users who were not available at the time of the upgrade hence the statement was meant to target these users who had been left out.
He therefore emphasized that customers are not supposed to top-up as earlier communicated.
The General Manager explained that, “We completed the rollover on the 24th of November, so as we speak, customers are not supposed to top up. We apologize for the one-month announcement that we should, that created the panic.”
“We thought that for our Nuri customers who we were not able to reach at that particular time, we were urging them to top up while we reach out to them. That is why we issued that statement. We are still on the ground upgrading our Nuri customers,” he further explained.
ECG is therefore urging customers of the Nuri meters who are unsure whether they have been upgraded or not to call their call center (0302 611611) with their meter numbers for confirmation.
