Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu, has disclosed government will provide about GH¢1 billion in electricity reliefs covering about 4.8 million persons across Ghana. This follows an electricity relief package announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on April 9, 2020 to cushion Ghanaians amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Minister of Energy, Mr John Peter Amewu, made this known at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday.
According to the minister, the reliefs for Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) customers sum up to GH¢244 million per month and GH¢732m for all three months starting from April, May and June.
Meanwhile, under the package announced by the President, customers who consume more than 50 kilowatts per hour will have 50 percent of their bills absorbed by the government within the same period using their March 2020 electricity consumption as the benchmark.
According to Mr Amewu, ECG’s life-line population in Ghana is about 1 million cluster population, comprising about 27.4 per cent of the total customers of ECG. Currently, about 86% of Ghanaians have access to the national grid and will benefit from the electricity reliefs granted government in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
He said the amount would cover the electricity bills of consumers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).