Copper cables on towers belonging to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) have reportedly been stolen in the Berekum municipality of the Bono Region.
The towers connect to the new sub-station in Berekum which supplies power to Dormaa, Drobo, Sampa, Wamfie, Wamanafo, and other surrounding communities.
This comes barely two weeks ago when some perpetrators hacked down one of GRIDCo’s transmission towers near its head office in Tema.
The Corporate Communications Manager of NEDCO, Maxwell Kotoka, who confirmed the incident of theft said the development is frustrating.
“Some copper cables belonging to us have been cut and taken away from a number of our towers between the new 161Kv sub-station and the 34Kv sub-station for distribution all in Berekum. In all, there are 22 towers and the copper cables have been stolen from 16 of the towers. The copper is not energized, they protect the towers from thunder and lightning,” Mr. Kotoka explained.
He said the theft of the cables could affect power distribution in the area.
“What we have done is that we have reported the incident to the police. We have done some engagements with the assembly, the political leadership of the area, stakeholders on the importance of each person helping in protecting the equipment and accessories,” he added.
Mr. Kotoko said NEDCO has taken steps to engage a contractor to have the stolen cables replace.
“We want to caution that we cannot continue replacing them as they get stolen and so we are urging everybody to be on the lookout for unscrupulous people who engage in the habit of stealing. We are also in collaboration with the driver unions to help us track such persons,” Mr. Kotoka noted.
Source: citinewsroom.com