The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, has given persons and businesses operating under power transmission pylons a one-month ultimatum to vacate the areas or face forced eviction and confiscation of their belongings.
Mr Jinapor said the directive was part of urgent measures to protect lives and property and prevent further damage to critical electricity transmission infrastructure.
He issued the ultimatum here yesterday, when he inspected a damaged transmission tower at Ashaiman-Middle East, following an incident in which an explosion involving a tanker being welded reportedly sent a metal fragment more than 300 metres into the tower.
According to the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the damage had compromised the structural integrity of the tower, which carries two critical transmission circuits supplying power from the Volta Substation in Tema to the Achimota Substation in Accra.
Mr Jinapor warned that a collapse of the damaged tower could trigger the collapse of adjoining towers and cause significant disruption to electricity supply in Accra.
He said despite repeated appeals for people encroaching on transmission-line rights-of-way to vacate, illegal activities had continued, making stronger measures necessary.
“Where persuasion fails, force must be applied legally,” the Minister stated, adding that the government would collaborate with the Police, Military, National Security, assemblies and other stakeholders to clear the affected areas.
Mr Jinapor directed all persons operating under pylons, including those who had erected illegal structures or were conducting businesses there, to evacuate within one month.
He warned that after the deadline, a major exercise would be undertaken to forcibly remove occupants, while items left behind would be confiscated and auctioned in accordance with the law.
The Minister also cautioned companies using areas beneath power pylons as car parks, describing the practice as illegal and dangerous.
He said the directive covered all pylons, transformer sites and other critical energy infrastructure nationwide.
The Chief Executive of GRIDCo, Mr Frank Otchere, said the incident occurred on July 10 at about 3 p.m., when the company received a report that a tanker had exploded and damaged one of its transmission towers.
He said preliminary information indicated that welding work was being carried out on the tanker when it exploded, sending its back plate into the tower and damaging one of its legs.
According to Mr Otchere, the affected structure was a double-circuit tower carrying two critical lines supplying electricity to a large part of Accra, making its immediate replacement necessary.
He said GRIDCo had retrieved an identical spare tower from its stores and was assembling it ahead of the replacement exercise.
The exercise, he said, had been shortened from two days to about 12 hours to minimise disruption to electricity supply.
Mr Otchere said the exercise could temporarily affect power supply in some parts of Accra as the affected lines would be taken out of service.
He said GRIDCo was undertaking simulations and deploying additional manpower, two cranes and longer working hours to minimise the impact.
Mr Jinapor appealed to the public to cooperate with the evacuation exercise, stressing that the safety of people living and working around high-voltage transmission lines must take precedence over economic activities.
He urged all affected persons to heed the one-month warning and voluntarily vacate the transmission-line rights-of-way.
FROM IAN MORTEY AND KEN AFEDZI, ASHAIMAN
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