IMPROVING ELECTRICITY SUPPLY THROUGH INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL MEASURES: THE CASE OF NORTHERN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY (NEDCo), GHANA

Across the globe, the supply of quality electricity and timely provision of requisite services are very important to consumers. However, in Ghana, the quality of service provided by public electricity companies hardly meet expectations of consumers and regulatory bodies. Dissatisfaction with quality of electricity supplied to clients has strained relationship between electricity providers and their clients. In its quest to improve service quality the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) implemented a set of internal quality control measures. In this paper, we assess quality measures rolled out by NEDCo from the perspectives of internal staff of the organization. Findings show that service delivery improved albeit temporarily following the introduction of quality control measures. However, interference from political and religious authorities, lack of commitment on the part of the staff and some poor levels of coordination were the key constraints militating against quality service delivery in NEDCo. We recommend a review of NEDCo's current service quality strategies and internal control measures, and realign them through, first, controlling drawbacks to smooth operations, assessing, and mitigating internal risk factors that affect quality service delivery, and second, establishing a strong arbitrator, to deal with external interferences in the company's operations.