Power thief slapped with GH3,567 penalty

From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi

A 37-year-old, Samuel Adu, self-employed, has been convicted and slapped with an amount GH¢3,567.61, by a Circuit Court for illegal connection of electricity power.

According to the prosecution, between May 2016 and May 2017, at Ahwiaa, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and within the jurisdiction of the court, he (convict) intentionally interfered with the distribution system of power by bypassing an Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) meter No 261002338 without authority, and stole power valued at GH¢3,567,61.

Inspector Evans Appiah, the Prosecutor, explained that the complainant was a worker of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Kwabre District, whilst the accused, Samuel Adu, is self-employed and resides at Ahwiaa, Kumasi.

According to him, on April 27, this year, the complainant led a team of ECG workers for a mass disconnection exercise at Ahwiaa. The team went to the accused person’s barbering shop, where he also operates an information center.
He said, upon inspection, the team detected that meter No. 261002338 serving the accused person had been bypassed, such that the meter could not read the power consumed, and for that matter, the accused person was disconnected and served with a summons to report at the ECG office.

According to the Prosecutor, the accused ignored the invitation and went ahead to reconnect the power. He said a note was left for the accused person to report himself to the Investigations Unit of the ECG, to which he obliged, and was arrested.

A bill of GH¢3,567.61 was given to the accused person by ECG as the amount of power consumed illegally, after which he was charged.

From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi A 37-year-old, Samuel Adu, self-employed, has been convicted and slapped with an amount GH¢3,567.61, by a Circuit Court for illegal connection of electricity power. According to the prosecution, between May 2016 and May 2017, at Ahwiaa, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and within the jurisdiction of the court, […] Read Full Story