The Ashanti West branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (Electricity Company of Ghana) has appealed to residents to help protect power infrastructure, warning that vandalism, vehicle collisions with poles, and unsafe construction practices are contributing to frequent outages in parts of the Ashanti Region.
Speaking on Luv FM on Monday, April 20, the Public Relations Officer for Ashanti West ECG, Benjamin Ohene Antwi, said the company is currently dealing with both planned and unplanned power disruptions across its network.
His remarks followed a five-hour overnight shutdown linked to maintenance works at the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant. The planned outage, announced by the Ghana Grid Company Limited and the Ghana National Gas Company, took place from midnight to 5:00 a.m. to allow engineers to replace a faulty Burner Management System controller.
Mr Antwi acknowledged growing public frustration over the recurring outages and apologised to affected customers, noting that many of the disruptions are being worsened by avoidable damage to ECG installations.
He revealed that cables connected to a transformer near the Oforikrom Police Station were recently vandalised, causing another outage that had to be repaired.
“Some cables for the transformer around the substation at the Oforikrom Police Station had been vandalised, also leading to an outage which we had to fix as well,” he said.
According to him, the incident affected electricity supply to areas including Anloga Junction, Bomso, Ayigya, and surrounding communities. The case has since been reported to the police, though no arrests have been made.
Mr Antwi also raised concern about the increasing number of vehicles crashing into electricity poles, describing the trend as worrying.
“It looks like whenever someone loses control over their vehicle, the next option is to run into an ECG network. We want our customers to know that that is not fair,” he said.
He further criticised the construction of buildings and billboards too close to power infrastructure, warning that such practices pose serious safety risks. He cited areas such as Adiembra-Atasamanso and Ohwimase Hilltop, where structures built around poles have weakened installations and increased the risk of collapse during heavy rains.
Despite the challenges, he assured residents that ECG is working to improve service reliability across the region.
“We want to assure our customers that we are working seriously to improve the system,” he added.
The company has also urged the public to report any suspicious activity around transformers, cables, and other installations to the nearest ECG office or police station.