The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), an independent body set up to regulate and oversee the provision of the highest quality of electricity and water services to consumers, has hinted that it is investigating the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) over the frequent and unexplained power cuts being experienced by residents of Ghana, in the ongoing load shedding exercise.

The investigation, according to the commission, has been necessitated by the daily complaints it receives across the length and breadth of the country.

A team has been constituted to monitor and mitigate the impact of the ongoing load shedding, which appears to have been thrown out of schedule, the Public Relations Officer for the PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah told Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station.

Meanwhile, another state-owned power firm, Volta River Authority (VRA), has assured residents of the West African country that the current nationwide load shedding regime would be over by 30th November, 2012.

The authority is expecting to receive additional power to boost supply of gas to ensure that the November ending ultimatum is met, the VRA Chief Executive, Kweku Awotwi stated.

According to him, the intense load shedding exercise consumers have experienced over the past few days could be attributed to inadequate supply of fuel at some plants in Takoradi.

Earlier, the Mills/Mahama-led government noted that the load shedding would end by close of October amidst complaints from consumers that the exercise has rather been made worse.

The President John Dramani Mahama recently assured Ghanaians when he took his turn at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Evening Encounter that they will enjoy universal access to electricity and energy by 2016.

In his own words: "all communities with a population above 500 are eligible to be connected to the national grid."