Hubtel, an indigenous technology company, has issued a statement addressing controversies surrounding its commercial agreement with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The company refuted several claims about the nature and cost of its services while reporting substantial improvements in ECG’s revenue collection – adding that recent comments by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been “designed to totally discredit the work Hubtel has done in the recent transformation and record-breaking achievements regarding ECG’s revenue collection and commercial operations”.
It added that: “Other false statements have also tried to paint the picture that Hubtel is part of a procurement scheme which has received payments for no work done”.
Central to the controversy is an alleged payment of US$25million to Hubtel for its PowerApp software. The company clarified that this figure was merely a cost limit set by ECG’s Board of Directors, not an actual payment.
According to Hubtel, only about US$12million has been spent thus far on a comprehensive system overhaul; which includes the PowerApp among other upgrades.
“At the project’s start, US$25million was only a figure set out as the cost limit by ECG’s Board of Directors. Hubtel has not been paid US$25million. With the guidance of Hubtel and other third-party service providers, ECG spent about US$12 million of the US$25 cost limit to replace old and obsolete systems that were causing severe revenue losses and frequent downtimes.
“These included upgrading its core databases from Oracle 10G to Oracle 19C, a new balance management and accounting system; hybridising metering infrastructure; an overhaul of staff systems for commercial operations; overhauling customer self-service systems; and overhauling revenue protection systems, among others. The new ECG PowerApp is only one of the cost lines within these expenditures,” the statement elaborated.
It said further disparity in the reported figures is attributable to different currencies mentioned, as US$12million is approximately GH¢171million.
Hubtel also cited “significant improvements” in ECG’s financial performance since their involvement began in March 2023. The company claims a monthly average revenue growth of over 210 percent compared to the August 2022 figures. Even accounting for recent tariff increases, Hubtel states there is “still a significant net monthly revenue growth of about 72 percent”.
The company asserts that this growth represents “the longest-sustained record of monthly revenue growth in ECG’s collection history” – adding that it has enabled ECG to become “self-sufficient in meeting its obligations to key suppliers in the short-term”.
Addressing concerns about potential political connections, Hubtel strongly denies any ownership by government officials or affiliations with political parties. The company states that it has never held any contracts with the government of Ghana, positioning itself as an independent, locally-grown success story in Ghana’s tech sector.
Hubtel also refutes claims about its fee structure. Contrary to allegations that it receives 3 percent of every electricity unit purchased, the company states its fee is 0.95 percent of transactions processed through its platform. Additional fees, Hubtel explains, go to other service providers such as mobile money operators and card schemes.
In defending its role, Hubtel states: “We remain extremely proud that after several initiatives and investments in the past (costing US dollars in the hundreds of millions) aimed at improving ECG’s revenues, Hubtel – a company founded and managed by Ghanaians – possesses the technology and expertise to transform ECG and set it on the path toward commercial profitability at a fraction of past investments cost”.
The statement said the company’s cotract with ECG – initially reported to be 30 years long – is to be for a 5-year term.
