The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in the Upper East Region has set out to intensify public education on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and service providers to improve compliance and service delivery.
This would be done through engagements in churches, schools, mosques, and through radio to get consumers to know their rights and responsibilities and help them understand the processes involved in addressing their grievances and improving the quality of service.
The PURC was established in 1995 with the mandate of approving rates chargeable for the provision of utility services, protecting the interests of customers and providers of utility services, monitoring utility companies’ compliance with standards, and promoting fair competition.
It receives complaints from both consumers and utility service providers and serves as the referee in resolving grievances.
In its 2024 report, the PURC in the Upper East Region helped utility providers to recover 28,000 cedis, and through its platforms to receive complaints that enabled NEDCO promptly replaced 8 transformers, 50 poles, and one-meter replacement by Ghana Water Limited as well as made adjustments in favor of consumers to the tune of 22,642.98 cedis.
The PURC in the region also recorded a drop in complaints from 884 in 2023 to 639 in 2024 which suggests there is improved service hence, the reduction in the number of complaints.
Speaking during a media engagement on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the Upper East Regional Manager of PURC, Seth Kponyo, explained that his outfit intends to intensify public education on the rights and responsibilities of consumers.
The focus of the education would also be on avoiding illegal connections, meter tampering and reporting illegal connections. He revealed that some areas have become known for illegal connections in the Kassena Nankana Municipality areas with individuals engaged in dry-season farming being the major culprits.
“Educating the public about their rights and responsibilities, avoiding illegal connections, and then also educating people to report illegal connections and avoid meter tampering and tampering with transformers. So, in 2025, we would intensify our monitoring and we identified certain areas known for illegal connections like the Kassena Nankana and Walewale areas and we would be engaging people.” He disclosed.
He also disclosed that the conflict in Bawku is making it difficult for service providers to successfully collect their revenues.
“The challenge in Bawku is that they are providing the service for those areas and yet the place is not safe for them to go for revenue and people too are not willingly paying for the services that they are enjoying so it is coming at a huge cost.” He stressed.
