GWCL goes Digital to tackle illegal connections to enhance its revenue collection
Report by: Ishmael Barfi
In efforts to tackle the numerous loss of revenues due to illegal connections and other illegal activities by some unscrupulous people in the society, he Ghana Water Company Limited(GWCL) has commissioned an ultra-modern telemetry Control Room and Metering Laboratory.
The newly commissioned ultra-modern telemetry Control Room situated on the premises of East Accra Regional office of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) am is to address the illegal connections, lost of revenue otherwise known as non-revenue water and other related challenges.
These activities has over the years been a stumbling block to the growth of the company in it’s quest to provide quality services to the ordinary Ghanaian.
GWCL goes Digital to tackle illgal connections to enhance its revenue collection
Speaking at the short ceremony media in Accra on Tuesday (June 22, 2021), the Managing Director of GWCL, Dr. Clifford Abdellah Braimah indicated that, his outfit has been able to reduce the non-revenue water from 56% in 2017 to 21% in 2021.
This he said was achieved without the newly commissioned ultra-modern telemetry Control Room hence believes that, much more can be achieved with the ultra-modern telemetry Control Room..
He used the occasion to commend the hardworking staff and management for their selfless commitment and dedication to the vision and mission of the company, a feat Aqua Vitens was not able to attain.
This feat he stressed shows that, Ghanaians are capable of solving their own problems and challenges.
GWCL goes Digital to tackle illgal connections to enhance its revenue collection
To continue to enhance the it’s delivery services to the people of Ghana, the able Managing Director of GWCL, Dr. Braimah called on the citizenry to report any act of illegality to the Company stressing that “if you allow people take more than they are supposed to take you deny those in the down stream”.
Touching on the Telemetry Control and metering lab, the MD noted that it would help to further reduce the non-revenue water challenges of the company as well as keep them informed on data collections in real time.
According to him, this reforms at the GWCL resulting in the telemetry control room forms part of his vision which is inextricably bound to that of the company.
“In order to facilitate this change in GWCL, technology and innovation department was created 4 years ago to leverage the power of innovative technology to improve on our business processes and expand the impact of shared management information”, Dr. Braimah emphasized.
GWCL goes Digital to tackle illgal connections to enhance its revenue collection
Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) he noted has since undergone transformation including the deployment of 100,000 ultra sonic smart meter with drive and remote reading capabilities, building of two new geographical Information System offices.
The rest are refurbishment of 13 offices across the country and equipped with tools to allow for capturing and management of all GWCL assets in a virtual space, among others.
On his part, the Chief Manager in charge of Technology and Innovation, Dr. Richard Appiah Otoo explained that among other things, the telemetry control room aims to improve customer response, hence make their service more efficient to the public.
“Connectivity is going to drive how we work and this is to ensure that the core mandate of the company is met”, Dr.Otoo noted.
Taking his turn to address the press, the Manager in-Charge of the Telemetry control Room, Ing Maxwel Akorsah, explained that telemetering means transmitting data over remote locations into a centralized location adding that “this is to make sure our service guarantees excellence”.
GWCL goes Digital to tackle illgal connections to enhance its revenue collection
Therefore disclosed that about 21 sensors have been attached to the pipes in the ground in order to help GWCL collect data from all the locations.
Data collection he emphasized helps them to monitor water quality parameters at the site as well as monitor the water flow and pressure at certain locations across the country.
The media was taken through how the system works at the newly commissioned ultra-modern Control Room to have a first-hand knowledge of how the Control Room operates.
Dr. Braimah used the occasion to assure the general public that the new system will indeed help tackle the non- revenue water which remains the bane of the company.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
