Kumasi faces power cuts till December 20

THE INTERMITTENT power cuts being experienced in Kumasi and other parts of the Ashanti Region, will end latest by December 20, 2021, it has been assured.

According to the power players, Ministry of Energy, ECG, GRIDCo and VRA, the power cuts is caused by damaged GRIDCo pylons at Bogoso on November 9, 2021.

The aforementioned institutions said a communication tower fell and damaged three GRIDCo towers, and it has adversely affected the supply of power to Kumasi.

They, however, assured that top technicians have been sent to where GRIDCo pylons got damaged to work on the towers and restore normal power supply immediately.

Kwame Agyeman Budu, the Managing Director (MD) of ECG, stated that “the damaged towers would be erected and become operational by December 20, 2021”.

He was speaking when all the major players in the power sector organized a press conference in Kumasi on Tuesday to educate the public about the recent power challenges.

Agyeman Budu said the power players were not happy about the recent power cuts in the Ashanti Region, saying that “we are very sorry about the power challenges here”.

The GRIDCo Director for Northern Network Services, Ing Vincent Boachie, said power supply in the Ashanti Region was very stable until the GRIDCo towers got damaged.

He noted that the massive damage on the 330kv Aboadze-Kumasi transmission line at Bogoso has curtailed the power supply to the Ashanti Region in recent days.

“On November 9, 2021, a communication tower collapsed and fell on the 330kv Aboadze-Kumasi transmission line at Bogoso”, he said, adding that it has affected power supply.

Vincent Boachie said “the available transmission network cannot carry enough power to the country’s middle and northern parts, including Kumasi”, hence the power cuts.

“During peak periods, the available transmission network cannot carry enough power to the country’s middle and northern parts, including Kumasi”, he remarked.

He, however, assured that top technicians are currently on site, working on the damaged towers, indicating that, hopefully by December 20, 2021, the fault would be fixed.

The press conference was organized by the power players following instruction from Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh aka ‘Napo’, who was absent due to parliamentary duties.