Parts of Greater Accra to face emergency power outage on Sunday

Ghana's power transmission company says parts of the Greater Accra Region will experience an emergency power interruption on Sunday to allow engineers to replace a damaged transmission tower.

The Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GRIDCo) says the outage will run from 03:30 to 18:00 local time on Sunday, 16 August.

The work is needed to replace a tower on the Tema-Achimota 161kV transmission line at Ashaiman, which was damaged after a fuel tanker exploded while welding work was being carried out on its tank.

GRIDCo said the emergency repairs require the power to be switched off so its engineers and technical teams can safely replace the tower and restore the transmission line.

The company apologised to affected customers and appealed for their patience while the work is carried out.

Warning over transmission corridors

GRIDCo has also renewed its warning against construction and other activities within transmission line corridors.

It said the damaged tower incident highlighted the risks posed by unauthorised activities within areas designated as transmission line Rights-of-Way (RoW).

Under Ghana's Transmission Line Protection Regulations, unauthorised construction, excavation, drilling, commercial activities, lorry parks, shops and garages are prohibited within protected transmission corridors.

"Right-of-Way is not an area available for unrestricted occupation or commercial use," GRIDCo said.

The company said Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor had directed that all people, businesses and other users occupying transmission line Rights-of-Way without authorisation must stop such activities and leave the affected areas within one month.

GRIDCo said it would work with local authorities, statutory agencies and security services to enforce the directive after the deadline.

The latest outage is expected to affect electricity supply in parts of Greater Accra while the emergency restoration work is under way.