NEDCo cuts power losses in Tamale by 10%

The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) has made notable strides in improving revenue collection in Tamale, reducing distribution losses from 57 per cent in January 2025 to 47 per cent by September 2025.

The improvement represents a 10-percentage point gain, attributed to the company’s enhanced revenue mobilisation drive and stronger public cooperation.

Announcing the development, NEDCo’s Managing Director, Ing. Yamoah, described the achievement as an encouraging sign of progress but cautioned that more needed to be done to reach sustainable levels of efficiency.

“This achievement is encouraging, but we are still far from our target. We need even greater collaboration from residents and traditional leaders to improve revenue collection and ensure reliable power supply across our operational zones,” Ing. Yamoah said.

He emphasised that consistent revenue mobilisation was critical for NEDCo’s operations, as it allowed the company to meet its obligations to power producers and to invest in infrastructure upgrades needed to guarantee a stable and reliable supply of electricity.

While commending the progress made so far, Ing. Yamoah noted that challenges remained, particularly in areas with high levels of power theft through illegal connections. He explained that such practices not only undermined NEDCo’s revenue base but also placed severe pressure on its infrastructure.

“Illegal connections cause transformers to overload, which often leads to them blowing up. This disrupts power supply, inconveniences entire communities, and increases maintenance costs. We are appealing to those involved in such practices to stop immediately, not just because it is illegal, but because it hurts all of us,” he stressed.

The Managing Director reaffirmed NEDCo’s commitment to service delivery improvement but insisted that long-term progress would depend on customer compliance, timely bill payments, and strong collaboration between the company and its customers.

As part of measures to sustain the revenue recovery gains, NEDCo is rolling out a community engagement programme in partnership with traditional authorities, opinion leaders and residents. The initiative will focus on educating communities about the social and economic impact of illegal connections, revenue leakages and unpaid bills on electricity supply and local development.

Ing. Yamoah concluded with a call for shared responsibility, stressing that reliable power supply could only be achieved through cooperation, accountability and the collective fight against power theft.