The Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr. Shafic Suleman, on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, visited the Eastern Regional offices of the Electricity Company of Ghana Ltd (ECG) and the Ghana Water Limited (GWL). The visit was part of his nationwide tour to strengthen relationships with utility service providers and regional PURC offices, as well as to promote the Commission’s commitment to proactive regulation.

Dr. Suleman, accompanied by Directors and Senior officers of the Commission, emphasized PURC’s determination to adopt a more collaborative approach in addressing operational challenges in the energy and water sectors. He urged ECG and GWL to leverage the Commission’s regulatory framework, particularly the provisions of L.I. 2413, which enable utilities to address customer concerns while protecting consumer rights.

Engagement with ECG:

During a meeting with ECG’s Eastern Regional Management, the Executive Secretary highlighted the importance of efficient revenue collection to support the Power Value Chain. He encouraged ECG to address customer grievances promptly and to enhance consumer education on energy use.

ECG officials, led by Acting Regional Manager Ing. Emmanuel Appoe, outlined key initiatives including:

• Loss Reduction Programme (LRP) to reduce revenue losses from power theft.
• Operation Zero Tripping–Boundary Metering to monitor community consumption and improve reliability.
• SCADA/VIT systems for real-time operations monitoring.

The Regional Engineer, Mr. Emmanuel Antwi Addo, also stressed the need to upgrade the Koforidua Bulk Supply Point from 30MVA to 50MVA to meet growing demand and to ensure system stability.

Engagement with GWL

The PURC delegation also met with the management of Ghana Water Limited, led by Ing. Paul Cletus Akpanya, the Regional Chief Manager. He indicated that GWL operates 30 water systems in the region, with 24 currently functional. Challenges discussed included:

• Unstable power supply which is affecting water production and revenue collection.

• Rising chemical costs, which has increased by 500%, and impacting treatment works.

• Infrastructure disruptions caused by third-party contractors.

In spite of these hurdles, GWL achieved a 98% revenue collection ratio in the first half of 2025, with June recording over GH¢7.5 million.