By The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) clarified that its recent communication approach with customers is not intended to absolve itself from the challenges of erratic power outages in the country. The company asserts that it has a responsibility to keep its customers informed about the state of affairs at the power company.
This statement follows the announcement of power restoration in communities affected by faulty 161Kv GRIDCO transmission lines over the weekend. Residents in parts of the Ashanti region, which fall under the Ashanti West region of ECG, experienced power cuts for several hours.
ECG attributes the disruption in power distribution to a faulty 161Kv transmission line at Akwatia and Tafo.
Here is Benjamin Obeng Antwi, the Public Relations Officer for ECG Ashanti West, who first explained how shortages in supply led to erratic power outages.
“On Friday, we received notice from Ghana Grid Company that their 161Kv Transmission Line between Akwatia and Tafo has developed a fault. In view of this, they would not be able to transmit the full complement of power supply to Ashanti region so Ghana Grid Company requested that during the peak hours between 7 p.m and 11 p.m we reduce load by 90 megawatts and this resulted in outages to our cherished customers in Kurofrom, Ejisu,Suame, Bremang, Kentikrono and its environs”.
Other areas affected by the weekend outages included Ayanfuri and its environs in the Central region, as well as Boadi, Atimatim, Patasi, among others.
In recent times, the Electricity Company of Ghana has adopted a communication style that appears to attribute GRIDCO as a source of power outages.
“ECG receives power supply from GRIDCO at what we call the Bulk Supply point. So occasionally there might be one or two challenges from GRIDCO end of the Bulk Supply point. So it’s not like ECG is absorbing itself from the outages,” Mr. Antwi said.
But Mr. Antwi tells Joynews there is nothing wrong with giving its customers the right information about the cause of the break in power supply..
“What we are doing is, we are communicating the truth to our cherished customers, because when you come to ECG as part of our core values, the O in the power acronym means openness, where we are supposed to be open and transparent with our cherished customers and all stakeholders in what happens in our daily operations.
“So we are not attributing all outages to GRIDCO, but the outages that are coming from GRIDCO will announce it. But then again, the outages coming from our end of the supply chain, we also announce.”
