The management of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is calling for the separation of its power lines from the Kumasi Nursing and Midwifery Training College to accurately assess its electricity consumption.
The hospital, which is among the over 90 health facilities indebted to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), is seeking clarity regarding its outstanding debt with the power distributor.
The ECG has threatened to disconnect the referral facility from the national grid due to its outstanding debt exceeding 20 million Ghana Cedis.
The hospital’s management explains that sharing power lines with the Nursing and Midwifery Training College has resulted in increased electricity bills for the hospital.
The Public Relations Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kwame Frimpong, emphasized that the hospital cannot bear the current cost alone and that there is a need for a dedicated revenue stream to cover the electricity bills.
The hospital has been paying some of the bills temporarily while waiting for the conclusion of ongoing discussions with the ECG.
The management believes that a dedicated revenue stream and a revised tariff structure are necessary to ensure continuous payment of electricity bills.
Despite repeated requests for the separation of power lines from the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, the necessary action has yet to be taken.
The issue of shared power lines has been a long-standing concern for the hospital, with the current setup resulting in increased costs and operational challenges.
The management is committed to finding a sustainable solution to the electricity bill payment issue and is hopeful that ongoing engagements with the ECG will lead to clarity and resolution in due time.
Mr Frimpong stated, “Well, we will be engaging the ECG to know the components. If it’s a historical bill, then of course, the hospital alone cannot be made to bear that cost, because we share the same line with the NTC. In fact, when we switch on our generators, the NTC benefits, it shows that there’s one line that is serving us.
“Again, the government, some time back, decided to take care of the electricity bills of all state institutions up to a certain point in time. We’ll have to know whether this amount precedes the date that the government said it was going to be taken care of. There was a cut-off point, it is after that period that hospitals were supposed to pay.”
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