Residents of Gowrie Kunkua and Bongo Kunkua in the Upper East Region have been without electricity since Aug. 21, following a confrontation between some residents and a NEDCo revenue mobilisation team over disputed electricity bills.
Residents say they had previously complained to NEDCo about what they considered unusually high or irregular bills and had been expecting officials to visit the communities to investigate their concerns.
Instead, according to residents, a NEDCo team arrived on Aug. 21 to undertake a revenue mobilisation exercise and disconnect customers who owed electricity bills.
Assembly Member for the area James Akuribila said he had previously reported the communities’ billing concerns to NEDCo and was told officials would visit to look into the matter.
He said residents initially believed the team that arrived on Aug. 21 had come to address those complaints.
“The community members thought the VRA/NEDCo team came to solve the issue they reported to them, but rather they were embarking on a revenue mobilisation exercise, which they sought to disconnect those who are owing, which the community members had confrontation with them and they left the community,” Mr. Akuribila said.
According to him, an exchange ensued between some residents and members of the revenue mobilisation team over the unresolved billing complaints and the planned disconnections.
The NEDCo team subsequently left the communities, reportedly to inform their superiors about the incident.
Mr. Akuribila said electricity supply to the two communities went off later that Friday and has not been restored.
It is not immediately clear whether the outage was the result of a deliberate disconnection by NEDCo following the incident or another problem with the electricity supply.
Mr. Akuribila said he subsequently visited the NEDCo office to seek an explanation and push for the restoration of power.
According to him, officials told him the relevant team was in the field and that the concerns would be communicated to them when they returned for the necessary action.
Despite indications that electricity would be restored, Mr. Akuribila said Gowrie Kunkua and Bongo Kunkua remained without power as of the latest update.
Residents are appealing to NEDCo to investigate their billing complaints and restore electricity to the two communities.
They are also calling for improved communication and engagement between the electricity distributor and customers when billing disputes arise.
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