Intermittent power cuts to end on May 17 – GRIDCo

The scheduled interruptions in power supply to parts of Accra, arising from the construction of the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP), begin this week and will end on Monday, 17th May 2021, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has said.

According to GRIDCo, the outages will affect parts of western Accra and will last for eight (8) days.

A timetable to guide the eight-day schedule has already been circulated by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to the affected customers and the general public.

A number of key projects are currently ongoing to enhance power supply reliability in Greater Accra, Central and Ashanti regions.

The US$60m Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) project, funded by the US government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), is expected to be completed by the first half of 2021.

Upon completion, it will provide flexibility for ECG to distribute power around the city in case of challenges in other parts of the system and will benefit over 350,000 households overall.

A statement said “The Kasoa Bulk Supply Point (BSP) project, also funded by the MCC at a cost of US$50m, will be completed by August 2021, and will benefit over 251,000 households. The project will help reduce the reliance on the Mallam BSP for power distribution to the Central region and will improve reliability and supply quality to Kasoa and its environs."

"Significant reduction in transmission and distribution losses are some of the benefits to be derived from the completion of this project. Anticipated power interruptions in relation to the Kasoa project will be communicated to the general public in due course."

“Apart from these, other projects are ongoing in parts of the capital and the Ashanti region to address specific challenges. The AFD funded 161kV Tema – Achimota – Mallam transmission reinforcement project, for example, will increase transmission capacity more than four-fold, enabling the transfer of adequate power from the Tema enclave to Accra. It will also provide enough redundancy in the transmission and distribution systems.

“The power system is currently characterized by low voltages, especially in Kumasi and the central/northern parts of the country. Occasionally, some feeders in Kumasi are switched off to prevent voltage collapse, leading to intermittent outages.

“The completion of the AnwomasoKintampo transmission project (set before the end of 2021) is expected to eliminate current transmission bottlenecks and ensure supply reliability to Kumasi and the northern parts of the country. These are all aimed at boosting the efficiency of the value chain in order for customers to enjoy quality, reliable and stable power supply.

“The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) wish to assure Ghanaians of their urgent commitment to complete the projects on time to bring relief to the system and customers.”