Nigerian man arrested for stealing ECG meters
A Twenty-two-year-old man, Sulley Bashiru, has been arrested by the police at Awaso, in the Sefwi Wiawso District of the Western Region for stealing meters belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
According to some residents of Awaso, the suspect is a scrap dealer from Niger who is sometimes seen collecting pieces of metals as scrap.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that on Sunday, July 28, 2024, the suspect was seen removing electrical meters of some residents in the community.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect, after removing the meters, vandalises them and takes out the copper components in them.
The suspect had stolen and vandalised two ‘Single Phase’ meters from some houses and had targeted other ones, when he was arrested.
According to the investigator in the case, Corporal Jonas Ofori of the Awaso Police, the suspect will be arraigned today, August 1, 2024.
The District Manager of ECG in the Sefwi Wiawso District, Ing. Albert Quansah, disclosed that electrical meters have unique numbers and geographical codes, which indicates their exact location and helps in monitoring.
“Therefore, stealing these meters rather compounds the company’s efforts towards improving revenue collection and reducing losses,” he pointed out.
He added that the district had received reports of meter theft in recent times and, therefore, set up a monitoring team to help avert the situation.
The Acting General Manager of ECG in the Western Region, Ing. Yaw Sarfo, cautioned the public that the company is clamping down on such unscrupulous activities and will apprehend persons who engage in meter theft.
