Direct answer
The official ECG shortcode in Ghana is *226#. Electricity Company of Ghana uses it for prepaid credit (tokens) and postpaid bill payment. It is rank #2 in our most-used company codes because lights are a weekly purchase for prepaid homes, not a once-a-year errand.
ECG codes that are real
*226# — pay / buy token (official USSD).
*713*414# — retrieve ECG PowerApp OTP only. Not a payment code.
Aggregator (ECG + water + TV, any MoMo): Ewale *714*22#.
USSD option numbers move when a company ships a new menu. Trust the on-screen label (Send money, Pay bill, Check balance), not a screenshot from 2023. If a path in this guide does not match what you see, follow the live menu.
Prepaid vs postpaid — the number you type is different
| Prepaid meter | Postpaid account | |
|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | A token that the meter must swallow | A bill settlement; no token |
| Number on *226# | Meter number on the meter face (and on the last successful token SMS) | Account / customer number on the ECG bill — not the iron serial on the box |
| Typical length | Often 11 digits on Ghana prepaid STS meters — count what is printed, do not pad from memory | Follow the bill exactly, including leading zeros if printed |
| Success looks like | SMS with a long numeric token → you key it on the meter | SMS receipt; outstanding balance drops |
| Failure mode | Token for the wrong meter, or not entered | Paying a neighbour’s account because you used the meter serial |
Compound / landlord setups: the meter number on the gate is not always the account you think. Ask for the last token SMS. If the name on the lookup is not your house, cancel before PIN.
How to buy a prepaid token on *226#
- Stand where the phone has GSM signal. USSD does not need data; it does need the network.
- Dial
*226#. Choose the prepaid / buy credit path (label, not a memorised digit). - Enter the meter number. Confirm the name / district if shown.
- Enter amount in GHS. The confirm screen is the price — ECG and MoMo levies print there.
- Approve the wallet prompt with your PIN on your phone.
- Wait for the token SMS. Ghana STS tokens are typically 20 digits in four-digit clumps. Enter them on the meter (usually a hashed key, then the digits, then enter — follow the sticker on that meter brand).
If the SMS is late: check MoMo history. One debit = do not buy again. Same-meter double vend is how people “lose” a token that actually sat in the first SMS.
Token on the meter — field notes
- Reject / reject. Wrong meter, incomplete digits, or the meter still holding a previous incomplete entry. Clear and type slowly. Do not invent a second purchase yet.
- Low-credit beep vs zero. Some meters warn before they die. A GH₵2 panic token at 9pm is valid; it is also an expensive habit versus a weekly top-up.
- Shared meters. Whoever holds the SMS holds the proof. Screenshot before the thread is deleted.
- NEDCo. Northern distribution is not ECG. *226# will not vend NEDCo. Use the correct utility or aggregator path for that meter.
Token never arrived: ECG token not received. Meter number primer: ECG meter number guide.
*226# vs *170# vs *714*22#
*226# is ECG’s own pipe. *170# (MTN) and *110# (Telecel/AT) can reach ECG through pay bill → utilities — extra screens, same destination if the biller is really ECG. Ewale *714*22# is the short path when you also pay water or DSTV, when you want the meter saved as a beneficiary, or when the official menu is congested after a neighbourhood outage.
| Situation | Dial first |
|---|---|
| You only need this ECG meter, now | *226# is correct and official |
| You are on Telecel Cash paying an ECG meter and the *226# session keeps dropping | *714*22# → Utilities → ECG |
| Landlord asked you to pay water + lights before Sunday | *714*22# for both, one PIN habit |
| You need a PowerApp login OTP | *713*414# — then go back to the app. Do not pay on that code |
Landing pages: pay ECG on Ewale · best ECG shortcode comparison.
What *226# will not do
- It will not register a new meter. New service is a district office / ECG process, not a USSD vend.
- It will not pay Ghana Water. That is
*1010#or Ewale water. See GWL *1010#. - It will not restore a disconnected postpaid account by magic. Payment plus ECG’s reconnection rules still apply.
- It will not show MTN MoMo balance. That remains *170#.
Postpaid on *226#
Choose postpaid / pay bill. Enter the account number from the bill. Pay the amount due or a partial if the menu allows — partials do not always stop disconnection; ECG policy is on the bill and at the district, not in a blog. Keep the SMS. If the amount does not move after hours, you paid the wrong account or the batch has not posted; call ECG with the receipt, do not guess a second account number.
FAQ — ECG *226#
Is *226# still working in 2026?
Yes. It is ECG’s published USSD. If it fails on one network, retry off airplane mode, then use Ewale *714*22# rather than a random third-party code from Facebook.
Can I pay ECG with Telecel Cash on *226#?
Sessions debit the wallet tied to the SIM you dialled from, when ECG’s USSD is integrated that way. If the prompt never appears, pay from Ewale (any major MoMo) instead of forcing a dead session.
How many digits is an ECG token?
Standard STS prepaid tokens are 20 digits. If you received fewer, you do not have a complete token — wait for the full SMS or support, do not pad with zeros.
Is *110# an ECG code?
No. *110# is Telecel Cash / AT Money. You can walk that wallet’s bill-pay tree to ECG, but the company code for ECG is *226#.