By The Board Members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), accused by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) of failing to deliver a consistent load-management schedule, have rebuffed a hefty fine levied against them.
On Tuesday, April 16, PURC imposed a GH¢5.8 million penalty on ECG board members who served from January 1 to March 18, 2024. This penalty was attributed to their failure to furnish a load-shedding timetable following a string of power outages between January and March this year.
In a letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, lawyers representing the implicated board members contested their clients’ accountability for the day-to-day operations of ECG. Consequently, they argued that their clients should not be held liable for the purported infractions.
“Board members of ECG are not responsible for the day-to-day administration of ECG and, therefore, are not principal officers within the intendment of Act 538 to be able to be held liable for a default on the part of the public utility ECG.”
They also insisted that PURC’s order is unlawful, null, and void as same is without jurisdiction.
The lawyers also argued that PURC has unlawfully clothed itself with the powers of a High Court by imposing such a hefty fine on their clients.
“The Commission’s order imposing regulatory charges on the members of the board is unlawful, null and void as same is without jurisdiction. By this order, the Commission has unlawfully clothed itself with the powers of the High Court, and imposed a sentence on the Board Members, without having been given the opportunity to be heard which amounts to a breach of the rules of natural justice.”
“Our clients, therefore, reject the contents of the regulatory order relative to any personal liability on their part,” the lawyers further argued.
