Inhabitants of Kumasi and other parts of the Ashanti Region would have to endure the unstable power supply they currently are experiencing because the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) say it will be difficult to publish a load-shedding timetable for the erratic supply.
Residents within the Greater Kumasi area have for the past weeks experienced unstable power supply and are demanding a timetable to enable them to plan their activities.
The power distribution and transmission agencies say the collapse of a communication tower on the 330kV Aboadze to Kumasi transmission line, at Bogoso, is the root cause of the outages.
Addressing journalists in Kumasi on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, Northern Sector Director for the Ghana Grid Company, Ing. Vincent Boakye, explained that the provision of a load-shedding timetable is dependent on a system that is highly unpredictable.
“A communication mast has fallen on the transmission line. This is the first time it is happening. So what we are doing is that we are ensuring this does not happen again. But looking at the voltage, GRIDCo does not know how many volts we need in Kumasi, so ECG cannot give a timetable… As to when the lights will go off, GRIDCo and ECG do not know. It depends on the state of the system and the voltage ready at that time,” he said.
The Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy, Lawrence Apaalse, also added that several interventions have been put in place to improve power supply within Kumasi and other parts of the Ashanti Region.
“These problems of power stability in Kumasi are issues that the Minister has put on the drawing board. It’s sad that this issue still persists in the Northern and Ashanti sectors. But it is our hope to ensure these issues are mitigated. We will do all we can to ensure that these problems are resolved,” the Chief Director assured.