The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says that the 44,928 Huawei prepaid meters replaced in the Accra West region are being reprogrammed and redeployed for use as postpaid meters.
The meters, procured and installed between 2022 and 2024 at a reported cost of GH¢42.7 million, were replaced in 2024 because they were not compatible with ECG’s Meter Management System (MMS).
The issue was raised when ECG officials appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Friday, October 16, over the replacement of the meters, which were installed after existing build-operate-transfer (BOT) meters were removed.
The Deputy Managing Director in charge of Commercial Services of ECG, Ebenezer Baiden, attributed the situation to changes in technology, explaining that the company had begun reprogramming the meters for use in selected communities.
“What we have done now is to put the meters together, reprogramme them, and then now we are piloting them for some communities to use,” he said.
The committee questioned why the Huawei meters had been replaced barely two years after installation, particularly given concerns that the earlier BOT meters had longer lifespans.
It also sought an explanation as to why the procurement and replacement should not be considered to have caused financial loss to the state.
Responding to this, the ECG Managing Director, Ing. Kwame Kpekpena, explained that the Meter Management System had been procured for the company by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), which was implementing the project on ECG’s behalf.
He said ECG had to continue providing electricity services to customers while the new system was being introduced and could not suspend meter procurement in anticipation of its commissioning.
“The meter management system was commissioned in May of 2022. And then from then on, new meters can now be installed on the MMS. So it’s not really a loss to the state. We are repurposing these meters and installing them as postpaid meters,” he said.
Mr Kpekpena confirmed to the committee that the meters could still be put to use following their redeployment.
The committee, however, requested documentary evidence to verify the claim, including the approved technical specifications, locations where the meters had been redeployed and their serial numbers.
The ECG Managing Director assured the committee that the requested information would be provided to enable auditors to confirm the redeployment.