Accra Academy Senior High School now has power again after the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) turned off supplies in July 2023 due to roughly GHS500,000 in unpaid debts.
This occurs following Monday, February 19, when the school was forced to close due to unpaid payments to the ECG.
The government allegedly disbursed GH¢5 million through the Ghana Education Service to settle arrears that Second Cycle institutions owed the ECG. This action is thought to have had an impact on the power supplier’s decision to re-connect Accra Academy to the national grid.
Speaking anonymously in an exclusive interview with Citi News, one of the school’s teachers described the sudden power outage as the saddest day of his 31-year teaching career and voiced his deep sadness. He bemoaned the poor circumstances, highlighting that even instructors who lived on campus and had prepaid meters had their electricity cut off.
As a teacher who has worked for more than 31 years, today is the worst day of my life. “I’ve never seen this anywhere,” the teacher said, expressing the staff members’ general dissatisfaction and hopelessness.
The anonymous teacher emphasized the school’s innocence in the topic of paying electrical bills, characterizing the situation as excruciating and unprecedented. He demanded that the government act quickly to guarantee that a settlement with the ECG is reached so that the school’s power supply can be restored.
Accra Academy Senior High School’s power outage is a result of the Electricity Company of Ghana’s ongoing, vigorous debt collection campaign. Following an aggressive collection campaign that began last year, the ECG has successfully disconnected a number of public and private entities from the national grid.
The scenario was addressed by Laila Abubakar, the External Communications Manager of ECG, in an interview with JoyNews. She stated that the task force of the power supplier was forced to disconnect the school from the national grid because of the amount of debt that had accumulated. Nonetheless, she disclosed that discussions were in progress to resolve the outstanding arrears and promptly reinstate Accra Academy’s power.
“ECG’s ongoing debt is the issue it faces. Additionally, our debt profile varies each month. We therefore need to be more proactive because we have expenses to cover. Unfortunately, because of our problems, we have to show less sympathy,” Laila was quoted by myjoyonline.com. She made a suggestion that ECG might turn back the school’s electricity if around half of the arrears were paid off and a promise was made to pay the remaining balance as quickly as feasible.
Accra Academy Senior High School can now anticipate a return to normalcy as teachers and students pick up their academic and residential responsibilities with fresh vigor and hope now that power has been restored.
