The Public Utilities Regula­tory Commission (PURC), has commenced a month-long public education in academic institutions, other organisations in the Upper East Region.The engagement meeting is part of the Commission's mandate to raise awareness about the imple­mentation of the Capital Contribu­tion policy, which came into effect on May 1, 2024.Speaking to The Ghanaian Times after a one-hour presentation at Navrongo Senior High School (NAVASCO) in Navrongo, the capital of Kassena-Nankana Mu­nicipality in the Upper East Region, the Regional Manager of PURC, Seth Kponyo, said the Commission was fulfilling its duty to inform the public about how well the Capital Contribution policy guidelines were being implemented.He explained that, Capital Contri­bution was the payment in cash or in materials by a person to the utility company for connection of supply to the network.In the case of electricity dis­tribution, he said, it required the extension of supply beyond two low voltage (LV) poles.For water, he explained that it involved an extension of more than 120 metres from an existing connection point, using a pipe with a diameter no larger than 63 millimetres.Accompanied by the Regional PURC Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Adam Sulaim­an, and Abdul Karim Jalil, a Complaints Officer, Mr Kponyo encour­aged individuals and organisa­tions across the Upper East and North East Regions to take advantage of the policy and get connected to water and electricity."The Capital Contribution policy has been there for some time now.

However, due to lack of guidelines, it was difficult implementing it." Fortunately, since May last year, the PURC came out with the guidelines, and our task now is to go round and educate the public on the need to take advantage of the policy to access water and electrici­ty," he clarified.According to him, the connection agreement was that, a customer who so desired to have electricity or water could pre-fi­nance the service, pending a refund of 60 per cent of their contribution from the service providers within five years."And this refund will only be pos­sible if two or more consumers are connected to your line (the line of the applicant).

The application pro­cesses for refund are not laborious.

You (the applicant) has to submit a copy of the signed Connection Agreement; a copy of the quotation letter; the evidence of payment of the amount quoted, and a complet­ed Form A1 or Form A2 per the schedule to these guidelines," the Regional Manager explained.Mr Kponyo used the platform to allay fears that customers who pre-financed the service connection could risk receiving a depreciated amount of money, clarifying that, "The discounted refund shall be 60 per cent of the depreciated value of the assets and shall be in the form of a one-time payment to the customer".On the issue of energy conser­vation, Mr Kponyo admonished institutions; such as hospitals, schools, the publishing industry and others, to desist wasting electricity, emphasizing that some gadgets, including heaters, fans, and sockets had to be properly managed to conserve energy.In many institutions, he said, management were always alarmed when they were billed, but, "it is not the fault of the service providers.