ECG will ensure non-stop power supply

Daily Graphic, pg 35, Mon. Dec. 01/08

Story & Picture: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho

THE Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Jude Adu Amankwa, has assured Ghanaians that the country will have uninterrupted power supply during and after the forthcoming elections.
He said the ECG was working fervently to ensure that the recent power outages in the country did not occur during and after the elections.
The MD gave the assurance when he inspected one of the power lines at the Achimota sub station ‘H’ in Dzorwulu, which burst into flames last Thursday morning due to high voltage.
The incident which disrupted power supply to one third of Accra occurred when the Minister of Energy, Mr Felix Owusu Adjapong, was at the site together with officials of the ECG and Volta River Authority (VRA) to ascertain the cause of the frequent power outages in Accra.
The explosion occurred at 9.57 a.m., giving off a thunderous noise accompanied by flames and fumes, and was the second time in a week that particular line had caught fire.
The earlier incident, according to officials of the ECG, occurred when a vegetable grower set fire to some weeds around the power lines.
A team from the ECG within an hour were brought in to work on the cables so as to restore power to the affected areas, which included Alajo, Industrial Area, Kotobabi and parts of Makola.
Mr Adu Amankwa said his men were working around the clock to ensure that power supply just before, during and after the elections were as normal as possible so as not to create room for people to cause any mischief.
He said the ECG had set-up an emergency telephone line where people could call and complain whenever they experienced any power failure and gave the number as 021611611.
The Energy Minister had earlier said that the incident was a clear manifestation that no one was sabotaging electricity supply in the country because of the forthcoming elections, saying the problem was related more to the use of out-moded equipment.
Mr Adjapong said the government was seriously working on resourcing the ECG so that it coul upgrade its equipment to ensure efficiency in energy supply.
He said the ECG needed $980m to transform the energy sector over a period of five years but said the government had only been able to provide $250m in the last two years.
He was hopeful, however, that about half of the needed funds would be made available to the company next year.
The Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, Mr Owura Sarfo, said the present energy capacity of the Akosombo Dam ( 1,400 megawatts) exceeded the country’s energy needs of 1,280 , emphasising that everything was on course.
He reiterated the fact that most of the energy problems that the country was facing was due to technical problems, saying that the VRA was generating enough power to meet the needs of the whole country.
The CEO of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO), a private energy supplier in the country, Mr Joseph Wiafe, said the company had the capacity to supply the needed energy but also attributed most of its failures to unforeseen circumstances such as lightening and human activities such as bush burning.
The tour also took the team to the Makola substation ‘G’ and the Osu primary substation.