Mr David Boadi Asamoah, Sectional Manager of Revenue in charge of Technical Investigation of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), on Monday dismissed suggestions that the energy device installed at African Automobile Company Limited (AAL) in Accra was defective.
He told an Accra Circuit Court that the system was not faulty at any point in time.
Mr Asamoah said this under cross-examination by Mr Addo Atuah, counsel for African Automobile Company, in a case in which AAL is charged with allegedly stealing power amounting to GH¢130,995.72, belonging to ECG.
AAL is also charged for interference in the distribution system of power and electricity supply in an illegal manner.
Mr Asamoah said the equipment built in the meter called “trip mechanism” responded to instructions from a relay that power had finished and so it would automatically go off.
However, when it was tampered with it did not go off and would continue to work.
The defence counsel insisted that the device installed by ECG was faulty at a point in time, so it stopped working.
However, Mr Asmoah replied: “It is not true, since it is based on facts and technical proof and formula which are accepted internationally.”
He said recordings were not estimated but they were actual readings on the meter, which AAL accepted after careful explanation. AAL made GH¢6,000 as part-payment based on their average consumption over the period and not on the bills that they were given.
He emphasised that the average energy consumption was based on actual energy or legal energy consumed and that it did not include illegal connection.
Mr Asamoah explained that in 2005, African Automobile had two meters, one pre-paid and the other post-paid.
He said the pre-paid meter served their Administration and Showroom, while the post-paid served their warehouse.
He said the pre-paid had a back-up mechanism whose function was to record all activities, as well as relay, which also controlled the trip that enabled the power to go on and off.
In case the pre-paid meter ran out, it would record all the energy used, but in the case of AAL their meter failed to go off since 2005 because it had been tampered with.
Mr Asamaoh said the built-in device which recorded the actual amount consumed indicated that AAL had used GH¢36,249.31 but it failed to pay in 2005.
He said in 2007, a list of debtors revealed that AAL owed about 31 months of bills, which amounted to GH¢130,995.72.
ECG therefore went to the place and disconnected power from the pole with the intention that AAL would come to pay its debts but the company failed to do so.
The case has been adjourned to March 1, 2011.