The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has partnered with Genser Energy, a Ghanaian energy company operating in the Western Region, to undertake projects to boost power supply to about 58 communities in the Western Region, Genser Energy has said.
It said through the collaboration which involved the clearing of overgrown vegetation along the EGC transmission lines, power reliability in the Western Region has increased by 50 per cent.
According to Genser Energy, overgrown trees and plantations under ECG lines were interrupting power supply to the Western Region and the 58 communities.
Genser Energy said an assessment it conducted earlier this year identified numerous trees and plantations under the transmission lines within the allowable distance and said the removal of high-risk trees would not only enhance the reliability of electricity supply to essential facilities but also contribute the overall stability of Ghana’s national grid.
Consequently, Genser Energy said early this year, ECG partnered with it to clear vegetation under its lines which posed a risk of disrupting power supply to 58 communities reliant on electricity transmitted through these lines.
The statement said to ensure community participation and support, Genser Energy engaged over 200 stakeholders, including traditional leaders, local assembly members, and Project Affected Persons (PAPs).
Under the supervision of Genser Energy’s Construction Superintendent, Stephen Ayisi, teams selectively trimmed branches and removed high-risk trees posing a threat to the transmission lines.
Mr Ayisi said since the clearing of the overgrown vegetation, the communities in Western Region had enjoyed an improvement in power supply.
He said there had been a 50 percent reduction in power surges that caused power cuts in these communities between January and March this year, due to the cleared vegetation along these lines.
The Chief of Wassa Old Subri, Nana Twumasi Ampaakwaw II, the statement said, had been deeply concerned since 2022 about the encroachment of trees near the transmission lines in his community.
“Every day while leaving our farms, we feared that we would come back home to no lights because a tree had fallen on the lines,” he said.
Nana Twumasi Ampaakwaw II said those trees had been progressively growing, posing a threat to the community’s power supply.
Justice Kofi Yeboah, a PAP from Accra Town, expressed gratitude to ECG and thanked Genser Energy for providing employment opportunities and improving community safety.
BY TIMES REPORTER