Disconnected customers will not benefit from free electricity – Minister

Mr John Peter Amewu, the Energy Minister, has reiterated that disconnected customers will not benefit from the free electricity announced by the President, as part of efforts to mitigate the hardships of the the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minister explained that in order for such disconnected customers to be able to benefit from the free electricity package, they had to be reconnected in the first place.

“Those that are disconnected will not enjoy, until they have been reconnected or brought back to the national grid,” Mr Amewu stated during question and answers time at the meet the press series organised by the Ministry of Information to give an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He said they had already begun the implementation process of the Presidential Directive, which was announced on the 9th of April; stating that “But if on the 9th of April, you are disconnected; you are not enjoying the national grid at the time that the announcement was made and even as at now that I speak you are not, then automatically there is no way that you are benefitting.”

“But if for some reason, your disconnection was because you haven’t paid your bill and you have made an attempt to pay that bill today, then of course you will be entitled to the benefits.”

Adding that “the benefits is for all Ghanaians”.

He said the free electricity package, which was for three months – April, May and June; in the event that a customer bought his credit in April prior to the announcement by the President, such a customer would have his free electricity package reflecting in the month of May.

“By the 9th of April, some people (may) have already purchased (their credit), especially the prepaid customers (may) have already purchased their prepaid and some people (may) have already bought their postpaid;so their April benefits will be derived in May, the May benefits in June and the June benefits will be in July,” the Minister said.

“So if you’ve already bought a credit in April (prior to the announcement), you will not see it in April, but when you move to May, it will reflect in May.”

He said the baseline for the directive by the President was for them to use the electricity bill for March.

Source: GNA