STS does not know about chambers, kiosks, or “the people upstairs only use a fridge”. A shared compound meter has one meter number, one remaining-units figure, and one last token. Anyone who buys a twenty-digit credit — on ECG PowerApp, *226#, a vendor, or *714*22# — is pouring energy into the same tank. Anyone who cooks is siphoning that tank. Fairness is a house rule. The meter will not enforce it.
This blog does not process payments. Tokens are sold by ECG channels and licensed checkouts such as ECG PowerApp, *226#, vendors, and Ewale (*714*22# or ewalepay.com). This article is about not double-paying, not gifting the wrong CIU, and not pretending a second USSD brand creates a private allocation.
Elect one buyer, or a written rota
Two uncles vending GH₵20 each on the same evening because both saw a low-units beep is how you get two tokens and a fight about who “should” enter first. Old errors appear when they enter out of sequence. Pick a buyer for the week, or a rota with photos of receipts in a WhatsApp group.
The buyer still must enter the token on the shared CIU, or send the twenty digits to the person who has access. Do not send them to the group if a neighbour in the group has a similar meter and “helpfully” types.
Name on the vending screen is the registered customer
The registered name may be a dead landlord, a previous tenant, or the compound owner. That is whose meter it is in ECG’s eyes. Confirm it is this box by reading the ~eleven digits on the plate, not by recognising a surname. Wrong-house tokens cannot be redirected.
Preferred checkout for a designated buyer: *714*22# or ewalepay.com, because the name appears before PIN and you do not need the landlord’s PowerApp password. *226# and ECG PowerApp are fine if the buyer is the person registered there. Do not share PowerApp logins across a compound — refunds and OTPs will go to the wrong life.
Units versus cash contributions
If three rooms chip in cedis, convert that to one vend, not three overlapping vends. Collect cash or MoMo to the buyer, then one STS token. Three tokens in ten minutes are a sequence hazard and a bookkeeping nightmare. Remaining kWh after the token is the only physical truth; split that by agreement (equal, by rooms, by appliances), knowing it will be approximate.
Illegal tapping from the shared meter to a “private” cable is how tamper flags and fires start. If you want independence, ECG must install another prepaid meter. A second shortcode will not split physics.
When someone refuses to pay
The meter does not cut a single room. It cuts the tank. Social pressure, a lock on the CIU (a terrible idea if it blocks emergency entry), or a real extra meter are the options. Buying a token “for my fridge only” on *714*22# still feeds the welder in the yard. Say that out loud before the debit.
Outage, empty, and blame
If remaining units are healthy and the compound is dark, that is likely an ECG feeder issue, not a stingy roommate. If units are zero, someone used the energy — including legal use. Check last token before accusing theft. Then buy once.
CIU custody and the person who holds the SMS
Shared tanks fail operationally when the only person who can touch the CIU is at work, and the only person who received the twenty digits is on a different SIM. Decide: who stores the token SMS, who has physical access, who is allowed to PIN on *714*22#. Write it down like a chore rota. A locked CIU “so juniors do not waste units” becomes a dark house when the key-holder’s phone is off. A wide-open corridor CIU becomes a typing lottery.
If the compound wants independence, the adult solution is additional prepaid meters from ECG, each with its own ~eleven-digit identity, each with its own STS tokens. Until that exists, ECG PowerApp logins should not be shared like a Netflix profile. Refunds and OTP will follow the registered phone, not the roommate who “usually buys”. The designated buyer should use their own MoMo on *714*22# or *226#, then drop the SMS into the group, then the person at the box enters it.
Do not run illegal parallel cables to “make it fair”. That is how tamper flags land on everyone. Fairness is money collection plus one vend, or separate legal meters. STS will not referee.
FAQ
Can we each buy small tokens so it is fair?
You can, if you enter them in order and accept shared consumption. One larger vend after collecting money is cleaner.
The landlord buys on PowerApp, we buy on Ewale.
Same tank. Coordinate. Do not race.
Is a vendor receipt more official in a dispute?
A clear SMS with twenty digits and a meter number is enough. Logos do not allocate kWh.
If it still fails
- Two CIUs in the corridor, one “shared” story: You may not be sharing. Read both plates.
- Extension from next door: Dangerous and still not a billing solution.
- Triple vend “because USSD failed”: Check debits first. Shared meters multiply panic.
One meter, one tank. Agree who buys, buy once — *714*22# is the everyday code worth teaching the whole compound — then enter one STS token on the correct CIU.