Ghana: GRIDCo Repairs Damaged Section Of Akwatia–New Obuasi Transmission Line

The Ghana Grid Company LTD. (GRIDCo) is carrying out repair work on a section of its 161kV Transmission Line from Akwatia to New Obuasi.

According to a statement issued by Dzifa Bampoh, Manager of Corporate Communications, the section of the line being worked on was faulted when illegal chainsaw operators felled a tall tree, damaging a critical tower section on the line.

GRIDCo said the line is one of the key lines that supplies power to Kumasi and portions of the middle belt of Ghana. The incident, which occurred on March 17 at 9:30 am, has significantly affected the quality of supply to Kumasi and its surroundings.

According to GRIDCo, their maintenance engineers quickly moved in on the same day as the outage and started work to restore the line. However, their assessment showed extensive damage such that it required moving heavy-duty equipment to widen access to the point of fault, dismantle the damaged tower and conductors, and reconstruct a new tower in its place.

“Our engineers have worked expeditiously around the clock, and as of Thursday, April 17, 2025, the reconstruction of the new tower has been completed,” GRIDCo said. The company added that the remaining conductor stringing works are projected to be completed by Sunday, April 20, 2025, for the line to be restored to service.

GRIDCo drew attention to the negative effects of illegal chainsaw operators (and sometimes ‘galamsey’ operations), whose activities often damage the company’s electricity transmission infrastructure across the country. The company urged the public to assist in curbing these illegal activities to safeguard Ghana’s transmission infrastructure.

“GRIDCo apologizes to the public, especially residents of Kumasi and its surroundings, for the power challenges brought on as a result of the damage to the line,” the statement concluded.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com