Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited, Adam Mutawakilu, has admitted that the company has been using smart meters since 2017 without fully activating their remote-reading capabilities.
Speaking on the*** Joy FM Super Morning Show ***on Wednesday, September 2, during a discussion on the topic, “Is Ghana’s water quality & access under threat?” as part of the Joy Sustainability Month, Mr Mutawakilu said that despite the meters being capable of providing consumption data remotely, Ghana Water continues to rely on customer care officers to physically read some of the meters and submit the readings.
When asked why the company had not activated the smart function of the meters, Mr Mutawakilu acknowledged that the system was still being operated mechanically.
“We still use it mechanically. That is where the challenge is,” he said.
He explained that a fully functioning smart-meter system should allow Ghana Water to obtain readings remotely rather than relying on staff to visit customers.
“When you use a smart meter, you should be able to read it remotely,” he said, adding that the company had not been able to do this.
The admission prompted questions about why meters described as smart had not been used to their full capacity nearly a decade after their introduction.
When asked directly whether the meters were actually smart, Mr Mutawakilu responded, “They are smart.”
He, however, acknowledged that the company had not yet activated the infrastructure needed to make full use of that capability.
Mr Mutawakilu said that when the current management took over, it found that customer care officers were still being used to collect meter readings manually.
“When we took over, we realised that we still have CCS, customer care officers, who go with the phone, take the reading, and forward it,” he said.
He said management had now taken a decision to activate the smart function, with work currently underway.
When pressed on why Ghana Water had purchased smart meters from 2017 without fully activating them, Mr Mutawakilu conceded that the issue required an explanation.
“That is the big question that we need to answer,” he said.
Mr Mutawakilu said the delay could not be resolved simply by switching on the meters because additional infrastructure and staff training were required.
“You don’t just go and activate. You need the infrastructure to be in place. That is number one,” he explained.
“So it’s not like the infrastructure is in place. You just go and key, then you start reading. Two, you need to train.”
He said one of his first steps after taking office was to restructure the company’s technology operations.
According to him, the former Technology and Innovation Department was split into an ICT Department and a Geographic Information Department.
The ICT Department is now expected to focus on the smart-meter system, while the Geographic Information Department will concentrate on the company’s pipeline network.
The two systems, he said, will eventually be integrated.
Mr Mutawakilu also said Ghana Water had begun classifying its customers into domestic, industrial and commercial categories as part of efforts to improve metering and revenue collection.
The exercise, he said, uncovered a significant number of commercial customers in Accra who were still being billed based on estimated consumption.
“In classifying them, we realised that in Accra alone, over 6,000 customers, which are commercial customers, like washing basins, hotels, restaurants, were on estimates,” he said.
He explained that the situation was particularly concerning because commercial customers represent an important source of revenue for the company.
“When they are on estimates, you need to get meters to meter them because they are the bulk of our revenue,” he said.
Mr Mutawakilu said Ghana Water is now working towards live connections that will allow the company to obtain consumption information remotely.
“As we speak, we are doing live connections. I take my phone; I should be able to read it live,” he said.
He said the goal is to enable the company to know the consumption of individual customers and improve its ability to identify irregularities.
The Managing Director further disclosed that Ghana Water plans to incorporate artificial intelligence into its monitoring system.
“We are putting in AI. If you do anything illegal, you should be able to communicate with Ghana Water,” he said.
He said the company intends to establish a dedicated platform for monitoring such activities.
The technology is expected to support efforts to detect illegal connections, which Mr Mutawakilu identified as a major challenge for the company.
He said the difficulty is compounded by the fact that much of Ghana Water’s network consists of underground pipes, making it difficult to physically monitor unauthorised connections.
“You know, water is not like power, where the wires are hanging. And you can see these are pipes that have been buried. Anybody can get up at midnight, cut and leave,” he said.
Mr Mutawakilu said the company expects to make significant progress by December 2026, including the ability to read meters remotely and reduce illegal connections.
Dealing with water theft
“We believe that by December this year, in terms of theft, we should be able to reduce illegal connections and read them remotely,” he said.
The smart-meter programme forms part of a wider technology-driven effort to improve Ghana Water’s ability to track water through its distribution network.
When asked whether the company’s telemetry system was fully operational, Mr Mutawakilu said it was working in some districts but was still being developed.
He said Ghana Water is installing flow meters and establishing District Metered Areas (DMAs) to provide more accurate information on the movement and consumption of water.
The telemetry system, he explained, will complement the DMAs by providing data that can be analysed to determine how much water is entering and leaving specific areas.
He said the company expects to have a fully functional telemetry system by December.
The purpose, he said, is to establish what Ghana Water calls a “water balance”.
“If I have District A, Adenta, it takes water and then sends it to District B, Madina. I should be able to tell maybe 50 gallons of water came to Adenta. They use 20. And then the 30 went to Madina. They should be able to account for the 20,” he explained.
He said the District Metered Areas and telemetry system would help the company analyse those flows more effectively.
Mr Mutawakilu said the technology upgrades, including the smart-meter, telemetry and artificial intelligence systems, are ultimately intended to improve Ghana Water’s ability to account for water, reduce losses and strengthen its financial position.
“It’s not an easy job because liquidity is a problem. But we need to do it to improve the liquidity position of Ghana Water.”
The smart-meter push comes as Ghana Water continues to grapple with significant water losses and revenue challenges.
Mr Mutawakilu said the company currently produces about 219 million gallons of water a day, against demand of approximately 350 million gallons.
He said 47.6% of water produced was still unaccounted for as of June 2026, although this represented an improvement from 52.2% in December 2024 and 51.6% in December 2025.
According to him, the losses are largely linked to leakages and illegal connections.
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