We’ll restore power to Kroboland after safety, network issues are addressed – ECG

Management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says power will be restored to the Krobo enclave in the Eastern Region after challenges faced by its staff are addressed.

This follows almost a week of power cut in the area by the utility service provider over what it says is the interference of its network and the safety of its officers.

Communities in the Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities had been off the national grid following an alleged exchange of gunshots between the military and some residents at Nuaso.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the gunshots were targeted at workers of ECG who were in the community to disconnect power from the main transformer which was serving a number of illegally connected homes in the area.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the ECG’s Public Relations Officer in the Tema Region, Sakyiwaa Mensah explained that the company has been left with no other option than to cut power as a precaution given the incidents of fibre cuts, tampering with its transformers and attack on its staff.

“The main reason for the outage is safety for lives, properties, the general public and ECG workers as well. We had some interference with our networks and as of now, we are not sure of the integrity of our network if we are able to provide safe power to residents because of the illegal entries to our supply networks. When such interference becomes a major source of concern, the first precautionary measure is to cut supply to that area for a period of time and assess the extent of interference.”

She assured that efforts will be made to bring finality to the matter.

“Hopefully, power will be restored soon. We are not against the residents. For now, no work is ongoing [because of our safety and interference]. We should all call for peace because we are ready to resolve this issue as soon as possible.”

There have been tensions with the ECG in recent times over the installation of prepaid metres.

It is however not clear why the entire Krobo enclave is off the national grid, but some residents say they have been badly affected by the power outage.

Others also called for some clarity from the ECG on the state of affairs because they have allowed the installation of prepaid metres in their homes.

Impact on health

While businesses in the area say the outage is badly affecting them, the management of the Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Health Directorates have warned of a public health emergency if power is not restored to their districts.

The two districts have been without power since July 27, 2022.

In the Yilo Krobo Municipal Directorate, for example, the power outage has caused the relocation of municipal Cold Chain Equipment, which includes vaccine fridges and freezers for ice packs.

The district hospital has within the last few days spent GH¢10,975 to power its diesel generator.

The directorates have warned that the high cost of fuel incurred in powering generator sets is not sustainable, “and we may not be able to sustain it to provide the quality health care services as expected.”