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Some consumers of electricity are expressing concerns about the metering of their consumption since the introduction of the new tariff. They claim that with the new adjustment, purchases of GH�10 and GH�20 units no longer read on their meters but the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has explained that following the adjustment, which took effect on October 1, 2013, any new purchases of electricity units will have to be debited to the accounts of consumers. The ECG said the current challenges of consumers on the prepayment metering system were because they were paying retrogressive charges in line with the implementation of the new tariff. A number of customers on the prepaid system have complained of challenges after purchasing credits and loading it on their meters. For some customers who bought credit up to GH�20, their meters read zero after they had loaded the amount on the meters. A customer�s experience A customer who resides at Avenor, a suburb of Accra, Abeku Mensah Junior, told the Daily Graphic that he bought GH�10 worth of credit for his prepaid meter �and it lasted for only an hour...the meter went off without any bonus... Previously, I used GH�10 for almost a month. It has happened to me for almost three times after the increment. This is serious.� New tariff When the Daily Graphic contacted the Public Relations Manager of the ECG, Mr William Boateng, over the issue, he said: �The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced that the tariff will take effect on October 1, 2013 so when you purchase credit on October 10, 2013, it means you owe the ECG.� He explained that as a result of the new tariffs, some charges on the bills of consumers had also gone up and so prepaid customers would have to buy more credit to cover the new rate and the meters had been adjusted to work in that manner. He mentioned that some charges such as service charge, street light levy and rural electrification levy had all been increased. For instance, he said, �on the old tariff customers paid 21.87 Gp for 150 units but they now have to pay 43.99 Gp. We can see from here that this is a clear case where even though the PURC announced an average increment of 78.99 per cent for the average users, those in this bracket have to pay more than 78 per cent.� He said electricity consumers now paid an average price of 36.34 pesewas per unit instead of the previous 22.77 pesewas which they paid before the implementation of the new tariff system. He stated that by next week the company would publish a table that would show charges per unit, and their associated service charges, to help consumers calculate their consumption and the corresponding charges. �We have in the meantime put these reckoners in all districts and consumer service centres to inform customers on the application of the new tariff. Our customer relation assistants are also on standby to help anyone who has a problem.� Inefficient appliances Mr Boateng noted that the use of inefficient electrical gadgets contributed to wastage of about 30 per cent of energy which consumers paid for. �Consumers waste 30 per cent of electricity they have paid for through inefficient use of appliances and obsolete appliances.� He said that was made known in a research undertaken by the Energy Commission and through the ECG�s field work such as visits to factories, offices and residential apartments. �For instance, sometimes an individual could heat a full jug of water in a kettle when all they need is a cup of warm water for coffee or tea. In some homes, the television could be on while children play computer games, and the radio plays in the background.� Conservation The most effective way to mitigate the effect of any high tariff, he said, was through energy conservation, as the study by the Energy Commission showed that consumers could reduce their bills by about 30 per cent.