The Bono regional office of the Commission organised a five-day training programme for security service personnel in Sunyani from August 26 to September 3, 2024. The programme was aimed at education the participants on how to effectively utilize the Commission’s Tariff Reckoner and Electricity Consumption Estimator (PECE) Apps.
The Regional Manager, Mr. Patrick Antwi, emphasized that there was the need for the security agencies to be aware of the apps for their personal use, and to help propagate the apps to other consumers. This would help prevent consumers from being short changed and enable them to better manage the use of electricity and water services in their premises.
The Tariff Reckoner App was specifically designed to help consumers determine the amount to pay for their monthly consumption of electricity and water and this can be calculated in either volumes (kwh/m3) or monetary terms (GHS). The PECE App helps consumers to have a fair idea of the consumption levels of appliances used in their premises. This is based on the appliance model, its rating and the number of hours the appliance is put to use. This would help consumers to use electricity judiciously and reduce their electricity bills.
Other key objectives of the training programme were to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of the Tariff Reckoner and PECE Apps among key state security agencies; to gather feedback from users; and to understand their experiences and identify any areas of the Apps to improve.
The Participants found the Apps user-friendly and effective in providing a clear breakdown of electricity costs. Calculations provided by the app during the training were consistently accurate, matching the tariffs and consumption data from the utility provider. The officers appreciated the detailed explanations given by the Commission and the ease of use of the Apps.
The Participants also advocated for further training sessions on the Apps to various sections of the public as they are very useful Apps that every Ghanaian should be aware of and be able to use without difficulty. Participants indicated that the App will help them to estimate their budgetary allocations for electricity and water and thereby effectively manage their consumption of these services. There was a suggestion from participants on the integration of a feature which will allow for automatic updates on tariff changes.
The Regional Manager, Mr. Patrick Antwi, showed gratitude to all the security agencies for their time in engaging with the Commission and promised to continue with further training programmes on the Apps.
The Security agencies that were engaged include the Ghana Police Service (GPS), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Ghana Prisons Service (GPS), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), all situated in Sunyani.
