Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, has appealed to Ghanaians—especially residents of Accra—to bear with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) as it undertakes a major transformer upgrade and replacement exercise to improve electricity supply reliability in the region.
The company is installing 12 new transformers across six primary substations located in Adenta, La, Teshie-Nungua, Nmai Dzor, Baatsona, and Lashibi.
The upgrades will increase capacity from 26 MVA to 39 MVA to enhance load handling and reduce system overloads in fast-growing communities.
The exercise requires temporary curtailment of electricity supply to allow the work to be carried out.
Speaking to a section of journalists after inspecting the ongoing installation of new transformers at ECG’s Nungua District Office primary substation, Dr. Jinapor commended the management and staff of ECG for the initiative, noting that it is the result of a comprehensive assessment of the distribution network.
He stated that the assessment revealed years of underinvestment, aging equipment, and insufficient expansion of the distribution network.
He further noted that the transformer being replaced had served the area for 22 years, necessitating its replacement to accommodate the surge in demand from the growing community.
Dr. Jinapor explained that the exercise will be extended nationwide, adding that after Accra, the next phase will take place in Kumasi, before moving on to other regions.
“So let me appeal that they bear with us. For instance, this exercise will be done by Friday. And so between now and Friday, if you experience some challenges in this particular area, bear with us for the good of the system. We will be moving to other regions in the month of May. The Volta Region is also developing a comprehensive programme to boost the system so that we can address the low outages we have experienced over the years,” he said.
“I’m very happy with what the engineers are doing. I want to thank them. I also want to thank the President for his leadership and the Minister of Finance for his support,” he added.
However, he raised concerns about lethargy among some staff, cautioning that he would be compelled to initiate a shake-up if the situation does not improve.
“If you are a district manager or a regional manager, we expect you to be proactive. Many of them are doing very good work, but we need to do more. I have asked the Managing Director to set key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive performance,” he said.
The Managing Director of ECG, Ing. Julius Kwame Kpekpena, revealed that more than 2,000 distribution transformers will be installed between this year and next year to ensure reliable electricity supply across its operational areas.
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