Residents of Amasaman and it’s environs in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra region are now at the mercy of thieves, stealing their electricity meters.

The sudden rise in electricity meter theft cases in the area has left many homes and businesses without power.

Some residents say from time to time they face this kind of criminal act but the most common of them is the stealing of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) meters.

One of the residents said on May 13, 2023, round 4:00 am, more than 10 prepaid meters were stolen, disconnecting individual homes, health facilities and businesses from the electricity network.

The resident, who prefers his identity hidden, added that after reporting the matter to ECG, the victims were demanded to pay a fee termed as Fraud Bill and the amount depends the number of electrical appliances one is using.

And it will take ECG about two months to reconnect victims to the electricity network or national grid.

The victim is of the view that process of reporting and replacing a stolen meter is cumbersome, time-consuming, unfair and unjust.

Moreover, the stolen meters are being sold to other users, who may be unaware that the meter is stolen. This raises concerns about the safety and security of the electricity supply, as well as the potential for fraud and theft.

A main cause of the stolen meters is that the meters are fixed on electric poles outside the houses of the users on the street, exposing the meters to be easily accessible to theft.

One of the major issues is that ECG is unable to detect and disable the stolen meters with their unique meter numbers from the system. This means that the stolen meters can continue to be used, and ECG might not be nable to track or monitor their usage.

The resident believes that without the involvement of ECG staff, there was no way this crime will fester.

The ECG is urged to take immediate action to address these concerns and ensure the security of their prepaid meters.