Rev. Samuel Frempong Kwofie(right) interacting with some of the participants at the workshop
A retired Senior Manager of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Samuel Frempong Kwofie has attributed the major source of revenue losses at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to meter text equipment.
He said the absence of meter text equipment, a gadget that monitor and calibrate meters, to determine whether a meter is giving accurate information for electricity consumption by consumers of ECG, continued to become a challenge.
Mr Kwofie said this yesterday at a training workshop for stakeholders in the power industry in Accra.
“The challenge is not only limited to our plants and substations, additional concern is the perception the consuming public hold on the level of accuracy of their household energy meters.
“Complains like ‘my meters moves too fast’ are often heard, which the industry service providers have the responsibility to address promptly to maintain quality service delivery,” he said.
The workshop brought together staffs from ECG, VRA, Energy Commission, Ministry of Energy, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Nedco Tamale and Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo).
It was, however, revealed that the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), the agency responsible for the maintenance of acceptable standard product and service, did not have the device to determine the efficiency and errors of meter text equipment.
Mr Kwofie said any intervention to bring the situation to acceptable range to ensure the accuracy of the metering system employed were of the highest standard is likely to become an exercise in futility.
“One of the greatest challenges faced in the electricity sector is the rather high energy losses. The figures that are reported ranging from 25 to 30 per cent are directly inferred from what the installed meters tell us.
“Accurate metering and instrument systems should occupy our foremost attention because of their direct impact on systems efficiency and stability as well as overall revenues,” he said.
He added: “In other words we need to constantly ask ourselves; are our instruments and meters telling us the truth? As a young Protection and Control Engineer at Akosombo, Kpong and Aboadze this question often popped up during many troubleshooting engagements.“
The workshop was organised by Meter Test Equipment (MTE) AG, a global industry leader in the provision of electricity measuring equipment for monitoring and calibrating.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN & YUNUSAH ESSANDOH
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS