Kwabena Donkor: ECG has no authority to decide whether or not to follow the PURC directive.

Dr. Kwabena Donkor, a former power minister and member of parliament (MP) for the Pru East constituency, asserts that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) does not have the authority to choose whether or not to abide by an order made by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).

He asserts that the PURC is a regulatory authority and that the appropriate entities are required to follow its orders.

“If for any reason you can’t comply, you can go to court to quash the orders of the regulator or you can go back to the regulator and state your case right away,” he said.

Speaking on Saturday, March 30, Dr. Donkor said that the main responsibility of the PURC is to protect the interests of producers and consumers along the entire energy value chain.

He stressed that the PURC is in charge of all matters related to electricity supply, therefore any legally-mandated order it issues must be followed by the relevant organization.

It is not for the ECG to say, “We have a stable transmission network so they won’t comply,” or to pick where and when to comply, he said. “If you don’t comply, the entity can be fined.”

His statement follows the PURC’s directive to the ECG to submit to it by the end of business on April 2, 2024, a thorough report detailing its operations, including data from regulatory audits, tariff revenue allocation, and operational issues.

Additionally, the commission has mandated that the Electricity Company of Ghana disburse money by March 25, 2024, via the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM).

Under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act, 1997 (Act 538), PURC explained that the order was issued in response to several significant observations it had made regarding a general decline in the quality-of-service delivery, including an increase in power outages across ECG service areas from January 1, 2024, to the present.

However, in a press release dated March 26, PURC provided an update to Ghanaians, stating that ECG has not yet finished paying the participants in the energy industry throughout the value chain of electricity.

The press release further stated that “PURC shall validate all payments made along the electricity value chain for an approval month and publish it on the PURC website not later than the second week of the following month.”

He emphasized that as a result, ECG should abstain from commenting on issues that fall outside of its jurisdiction.

The Pru East MP stressed that the direction from the PURC should go to the ECG in response to a question about who should get it.

He asserts that the distribution system and the transmission system are not the same.

“The Kayayei and the transmission system are identical. The Kayayei delivers the load from the stipulated location to the other point when you give it to them to carry.

“You cannot hold the Kayayei responsible for bringing you a half load if it is only half loaded; if it is fully loaded, it will carry the entire load.”

The MP made it clear that GRIDCo serves as the transmission firm, transferring electricity to the ECG and NEDCo, the distribution companies.

“GRIDCo wheels the power that is supplied and contracted to its substations so that they can distribute it.”

He stressed that ECG should not be held accountable if there are power supply limitations that affect distribution.