The Board Members of the Electricity Company of Ghana have rejected the regulatory order from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) asking the board to pay GHC5.8million for failure to publish to the public, a load-shedding timetable.
A letter written by the lawyers of the ECG Board to the PURC Wednesday, April 17, 2024 indicate that the Board is a separate entity that is not responsible for the day to day running of the company and cannot be charged for not performing an administrative duty.
The PURC in March 2024 warned that it would be compelled to issue regulatory sanctions against the power distribution company over the erratic power supply otherwise known as dumsor.
This came after the regulatory body observed that the ECG had failed to comply with its directive to release a load-shedding timetable corresponding with the timelines and duration for each transformer injection.
The regulator said it had not seen any evidence of the publication of the load management timetable despite being ordered to do so. In that regard, the Commission said it “is finalizing regulatory action on the above.” Thus, the fine imposed on the Board members.
PURC fines ECG Board members GHC5.8m for failing to notify public of power outages
But in its response, the ECG Board says the sanctions meted at it by the PURC is “unlawful, null and void as same is without jurisdiction.”
“Board members of ECG are not responsible for the day-to-day administration of ECG and, therefore, are not principal officers within the intendment of Act 538 to be able to be held liable for a default on the part of the public utility ECG.
“The Commission’s Order imposing regulatory charges on the members of the Boards is unlawful, null and void as same is without jurisdiction. By this Order, the Commission has unlawfully clothed itself with the powers of the High Court, and imposed a sentence on the Board Members, without having been given the opportunity to be heard which amounts to a breach of the rules of natural justice. Our clients, therefore, reject the contents of the regulatory order relative to any personal liability on their part,” the letter to the Commission stated.
