The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Ing. Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi, yesterday urged Ghanaians to help protect electricity lines in the country.
“…the grid does not need too much noise and therefore we are making conscious efforts to clear the lines, but it comes at a huge cost, so there is the need to educate Ghanaians to protect the electricity lines.”
Ing. Essienyi was speaking on the update on the state of the Ghana Grid in a news conference at the Ministry of Information, Accra.
Speaking to the media about the institution’s difficulties, he said that the power lines were overgrown and needed to be cleared, so farmers whose trees cross the lines should remove them.
According to Ing. Essienyi, galamsey miners purposefully dig beneath the lines, forcing them to move their towers at extra expense. In order to prevent any kind of electrocution, he warned encroachers and illegal miners in this notice to stop interacting with their transmission wires.
He mentioned that his outfit had been granted the approval to reconstruct the major transmission lines in the country to improve voltages.
Performance Review
Speaking on this, Ing. Ebenezer Kofi Essienyi stated that the Transmission System Average Interruption Duration Index (TSAIDI), which checks the duration for lights off to come on, had improved significantly over the years.
Also, the institution had commissioned three substations from 65 to 68, including the Kasoa and Pokuase Substations. They also managed to get private partners to sponsor some of their projects; these partners include B5 Plus in Lapleku, Newmount in Ahafo North, and Cardinal in Namdini.
Planned Major Transmission Projects
To reduce congestion and increase transmission transfer capacity, Ing. Essienyi revealed three initiatives that his organisation would undertake.
The 161Kv Aboadze (Cape Coast-Winneba-Mallam) Transmission Line Project, which will cost $55 million and be finished by 2026; the 161Kv Mallam to Pokuase (A4BSP) Transmission Line Project, which will cost $42 million and be finished by 2024; and finally, the 161Kv middle corridor transmission line (Akosombo-Tafo-Nkawkaw-Kumasi).
Rural Electrification
He stated that his organisation was still making every effort to provide those rural villages in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and NEDCO zones without energy. According to the SDGs, everyone must have access to power, he claimed. Therefore, he has urged those without electricity to report their information to the proper authorities so that they could give them electricity.
